Meet The Lucitors
by Jess-The-Vampire
Summary: A Compilation of short stories involving Tom Lucitor, and his lovely parents taking care of him. May involve Tom ships like Tomco, and Tomstar in them and/ or the addition of other characters like Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz.
1. Moving On

**I have grown a fondness for Tom's parents and family since they were introduced, and in response i'm gonna be making a few fics and stories that involve them and taking care of Tom.**

 **(May or may not have some tomstar and tomco in them)**

 **So this will be a complication of One-shots of them and Tom and i can't wait to write more for them.**

 **This is the first one, dealing with Tom's first break-up with Star, or the one they had that led him to getting anger management, enjoy!**

* * *

"Tom?"

Dave knocked on the door of his son's room carefully, he could hear Tom's sobs from the other side, even with the boy's bed being as far from the door as possible in a dungeon type room. Tom was not exactly know to be very quite when he had his outbursts, this was no exception.

Tom hadn't even left his room today, his dinner was brought to him, and he refused to attend any of his princely meetings that morning. Dave had every reason to be concerned, why was he the one who always had to reasonably talk to Tom? Probably because Wrathmeloir would have an awfully hard time entering Tom's bedroom, not to mention between the both of them, Dave seemed to have an easier time communicating with the demon prince.

Today he had been sure Tom was just occupied hanging out with friends, or spending time with his girlfriend, and just lost track of time, leading to his absence all day. But Tom never missed dinner, and his absence was the last straw that something was wrong, and there was no way it was just a mistake on his part.

He was intentionally missing out on everything, and by the sounds of it, because of something personal too.

He knocked again, more worried by the sounds of Tom's crying, "Thomas? It's your father? Can I come in?".

There was no response, just more screaming and crying from the demon boy, Dave carefully opened the door wide to enter, only the jump out of the way of a huge fire blast that excited from it. Honestly he should be more shocked, but he's gotten used to this kind of danger by this point.

The fire finished it's run and the steps down to the prince's room were cleared, Dave fixed himself up and made his way carefully down into Tom's bedroom. It was a mess, well it at least more of a mess then it was before, and it didn't take long to find the source of the mess.

Tom was curled up into a ball on his ruined bed sheet, wearing noting but his underwear, and he was surrounded by photographs. He looked like a mess, his hair was messy, his make-up was ruined, and he smelled as if he hadn't bathed in awhile. Tom, who spent a good portion every day trying to look fresh and nice, looked as if his world had collapsed.

He clutched some pictures to his chest and kept weeping, ignoring his father's presence, hugging himself to make the pain go away. His eyes were puffy too, and tears were still running down the demon's face, he looked awful. Dave moved closer to his son, concern all over his face, and reached out to him.

"Tom? Hey...what happened?"

"Go away...", Tom grumbled, fire rising around him carefully.

"Tom..."

"I SAID GO AWAY!", He shot up, eyes glowing red and the fire got worse, making Dave jump back a bit. But Tom's eyes faded back instantly and and he feel back onto the bed and cried, Dave just stood there, not wanting to run up to him when he was clearly in no mood to be held.

"He's been crying all day your majesty...", the goat skull above Tom's bed spoke, startling Dave for a second, "Even since he got home last night...". Like a flash Tom, shot fire and aimed it at the skull, barely missing him before curling back up on the bed.

Tom's movement had knocked one of the pictures off of his bed, and Dave instead went down to pick it up.

He remembered this pic, this was when Tom first invited Star to dinner with them, Star was hilariously posing with Tom and giving him a noogie. This was one of Tom's favorite pictures, he stood up, just in time for Tom to snatch it out of his hand and hold it close to him with the others.

The other pictures, of him and Star.

"Tom?", Dave looked at him sadly, "You're a mess, I haven't seen you all day...and...did something happen...with Star?". He carefully took a seat on the bed next to Tom, who was still sobbing and staring at the pictures of Star and him, at least he wasn't trying to kick his father out or set anything aflame.

"Thomas...I'm worried...what happened-"

"Star broke up with me? OK!?", Tom replied bitterly, causing a nearby pillow to be set aflame. He hugged his legs close to his chest and cried into them, "S-she broke up with me last night...w-we...were out and I got angry and s-she said she couldn't take it anymore and...".

He punched the sheet next to him and another shot of fire showed up.

Which only made him even more upset , "s-she hates me and i-i'm gonna be alone for the rest of my life...". His cried were muffled as he pressed his faces into his hands and the waterworks came back, only making the king want to reach out to him.

Dave had many bad experiences reaching out to Tom ever since he was a baby, because Tom couldn't control himself and as a baby it was so easy for Tom to not know that "Fire hurts daddy". But that never seems to stop Dave, no matter how many accidental marks Tom left on him.

Tom flinched as a hand was pressed to his bare backside, but he didn't push his father away from him, he just continued to cry a bit.

The king waited until Tom calmed down a bit, carefully rubbing his backside and being careful not to make him uncomfortable. Tom's crying ceased a little bit, and To Dave's surprise Tom leaned onto his shoulder, still holding on to Star's pictures, and closed his eyes.

"Dad...she...she hates me...I-I'm just...".

He sniffled, the fire around him also had seemed to cease, he buried his nose in his father's fancy shirt and relaxed as he felt his dad wrap an arm around him. "Tom...I'm sorry that you and Star...but it's going to be ok..you'll meet other nice people..".

"Not like Star...and it's all my stupid fault too...i-I'm a mistake..."

"Thomas...you're not a mistake..."

"Then why'd she break up with me? I screwed up...I-I...I ruin everything I touch..", he whined into the soft fabric, he just wanted to curl up and die, no one would miss him anyway right? It's not like he had any real friends right?

"Tom, you're not a mistake, you're worth much more then that...", Tom shook his head, "I got angry dad, and s-she couldn't handle it anymore...I shouldn't have gotten angry, i should have never-". Dave shushed him, when Tom was little he used to always shush him, and hold him close, rubbing his head, and sing to him till he calmed down from his tantrums.

Years later that still seemed to work to an extent, Dave carefully stroked Tom's hair and Tom sniffled, but stopped crying. He grumbled a little bit in protest, but didn't stop his father, "I'm not a baby anymore dad...i'm 14 years old...".

Dave smiled softly, "Yeah, I can tell...".

"I-I thought you'd be angrier about this...", Tom mumbled into his shirt, the king actually looked rather surprised and stopped petting him for a it. "Why?", Tom sighed, "I dunno...i just thought you'd be disappointed in me or upset maybe at Star or...I dunno...".

He sighed and resumed petting the demon, "Tom, I'm not upset with you, I don't even know what exactly happened...right now, all I care about is what this has done to you...". Tom's breathing slowed down, he was calming down more, "Don't let Star get to you Tom...she's missing out...".

Tom was silent as his father continued to comfort him, then he made some small sniffling noises and hugged his arms. "So what do you think I should do...?", Dave grumbled, "I personally think you should take a bath, put some clean clothes on, and get this room cleaned up-".

"Dad, I was talking about Star..", Tom whined, sparks flying from his hands, "What do I do about _**Star**_?".

Dave continued to pet him, "I don't know Tom...but you can't stay in your room for the rest of your life being hurt about her...it's just gonna make you feel worse...the best you can do for now is try and mov-". Suddenly in a flash,Tom shot up from his father and grumbled at him, "I don't WANT to get over Star! I just...want her back...".

"I _**know**_ you do...", Dave almost shouted before cooling himself down, "But this is just making you miserable...your life is more then just Star you know? You're still a prince, and a kid, and...my son...we missed you during dinner...a lot..."

Tom didn't say anything.

"You can't march into the butterfly kingdom and expect her to come back Tom, even _**I**_ can't do that...as funny as it would be to try. If Star doesn't want to be in a relationship with you anymore, then there's nothing else to do but move on with life...", Tom huffed, and Dave dragged him up by his arm, "C'mon, you need a bath...you might feel a bit better after cleaning up..".

Tom didn't protest as he was dragged into his own bathroom and into the tub, still wearing his underwear and refusing to take them off like a child, he seemed too lost in thought to really care that his father was forced to bathe him like he was 5 years old again. Suds dripped from his pink hair and the smell of lavender wafted the room, the king tried to dry Tom off much to Tom's protest, and even it was clear he was also upset with Tom's stubbornness.

"There, all clean...don't you feel a bit better?", the king put the towels into the laundry shoot, and grabbed some clean clothes from a servant who finally brought them in before leaving.

Tom shot him a dirty look, "No, I'd rather weep in my sadness then have you do that again...".

The king sighed, laying his clothes out for him to change, sometimes he missed his smiley little boy, Tom was growing up too fast. Tom stared at the clothes laid out for him,but didn't move, didn't go over to pick them up, he just stood in place, glaring at his father, trying to be angry at him when part of him knew he hadn't done anything wrong.

Dave lost eye contact with Tom, and stared at the wall next to him, finally giving up on him tonight. He couldn't force Tom to be happy after all, and when Tom was deadest on something, he didn't give up easily.

"You know Tom, you can be sad...it's ok to be sad and angry about this, it's ok to cry about it and be comforted about it, but if you really want to make things work with Star again...staying in your room all day, wearing nothing but your underwear, will get you nowhere." Tom wasn't facing his father, but he could tell he was right," I'm not asking you to stop feeling bad, but I at least want you to try and not give up on your life because of this...you need to move on...she's not the only one who cares about you...".

Tom said nothing, just standing there and refusing to look his father in the eyes.

Dave sighed, "I'll come check on you later...I suppose..".

He walked out of Tom's bathroom and closed the door behind him, leaving Tom alone in the bathroom.

Tom looked around him, and took note of one pic of Star he kept on his bathroom mirror. He picked it up and sighed, what had he become in such a short amount of time? He looked pathetic, his own father had to drag him into a bathtub, no wonder Star broke up with him.

He bit his lip, and took a deep breath before looking towards the fresh clothes laid out for him.

-  
Dave was about halfway up the stairs when he heard someone behind him, only to find a floating demon racing past him and out the door. "Hey dad...", Tom was clean, in new clothes, and no pictures of his new ex were in sight. Tom didn't exactly look happy, per say, no he still looked sick to his stomach and looked like he'd cry, but at least he was trying.

He was clean, and ready to go be a prince.

Dave smiled, "C'mon, you still look hungry, I think you need some dessert...", he motioned for Tom to follow him as he went up ahead and Tom carefully floated behind him. But while he wasn't looking, Tom reached into his pocket and allowed himself to slightly see the picture of Star that was in there.

His dad was right.

He wasn't going to cry anymore in his room, that would get him nowhere in getting Star back.

No, crying wouldn't make Star take him back or remove the cursed anger issues that ruined his relationship.

Action would.


	2. Pillow From Pain

**_WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_**

Dave's eyes shot open quickly as the screaming got louder, finally getting his attention and allowing him to wake up from his rest. Part of him was angry at himself for not noticing it sooner, but then again what did he expect when Tom's crib was practically a dozen feet below him?

Just getting off the bed itself was a feet, Dave had his own royal lift to make it to the top and after getting off the pillow and running to the edge he got aboard. Wrathmelior stirred in her sleep, looks like Tom was finally starting to wake her up as well, that or maybe she could sense the raising fire Tom was most definitely producing in their room. She was the heavier sleeper, so if Tom was waking her up he must've been making quite the ruckus.

The lift stopped and Dave hopped out and make his way to the crib where a 10 month old baby was, crying through all three of his eyes, and hands moving around like crazy. Babies cry, this was expected when they found out there were having a kid, but Thomas was far from a normal baby.

Tom, was half demon, and a prince no less.

Only last month, it was clear Tom's powers were finally coming in, and for a half-demon he was quite powerful, or at least more power then what either of his parents were expecting. For now it seemed to just be pyrokinesis, but there was no telling what else he'd be able to do by the time he turned 1.

Dave avoided the flames surrounding him and carefully picked the crying baby up, holding him close to his chest and trying to calm him down before he woke up the entire underworld. Judging by the loud and almost earth shaking movement, Wrathmelior was awake and Dave turned around to fine the sleepy demon queen staring at them and yawning.

Frankly, they were getting used to this because it had practically been happening almost every night, but it was still saddening they couldn't all have a peaceful night of rest. Dave petted Tom and rubbed his back, humming to him and helping him calm down, Tom seemed to really like music, it soothed his temper.

Dave looked his little boy over and for what felt like the 50th time this month, and acknowledged the source of Tom's fits. Those little bumps on the side of his head, which both parents immediately knew at first glance, that he was growing horns.

Wrathmelior of course said they constantly grew for years, and would continue to grow till Tom was a teenager, so this was just a step in the earliest part of Tom's growth. But that sure didn't make Tom any less uncomfortable trying to sleep on his side and finding pointy parts of him separating his head from comfortably lying down in the soft carriage.

He was only a baby after all, a baby with no control of his emotions or abilities, he couldn't exactly help that his fits in turn affected the world around him. He was just reacting to the obvious pain he was dealing with in the only way babies knew how.

Dave just wished there was an easier solution to fixing this for Tom.

His horns haven't even broke the skin yet, and they're already a pain for him and everyone else.

Tom's sobs died down bit by bit as his father calmed him down, and the fire was slowly descending till Tom's breathing slowed down and he fell back asleep. Dave sighed in relief, before carefully placing the small boy back in his crib, only after kissing his forehead and tucking him in.

"Get some sleep Tommy, we'll see you in the morning ok? We love you.."

A faint smile appeared on the small baby's lips as his father finished putting him to sleep. Dave sighed in relief, and yawned, Tom wasn't the only one who desperately needed some rest tonight. He watched Tom sleep peacefully and felt the strong urge to get back into some sleep himself.

The demon queen exchanged a smile with him before he returned to the lift and back to bed.

* * *

The next night was the same as always, and the next night, and the next.

Dave was used to it, it became a routine, but it turn it was taking a tool on his sleep schedule and he knew it. He found himself almost dozing off during meetings and dinners, and being tired was the last thing he needed while being in charge of a land surrounded by demons and lava.

Moon was no help, then again, she wasn't a mother yet and wouldn't be for a few months so he couldn't be surprised. It's not like she's the one with the baby whose screams can cause the entire room to become an oven in seconds.

But he loved Tom, no matter what.

There had to be a better way of keeping Tom's horns from setting him off in the middle of the night.

It was another long day, and Dave was sitting down and currently watching Tom as it was his turn , the little half-demon was chewing on his father's arm. His sharp teeth were still developing, so at least it didn't hurt as badly as it could've been, and at least Tom seemed to be getting some joy out of it.

He giggled, drool dripping on his father's arm, but Dave didn't mind. In ways he was prepared to raise a child that was half-demon, ready for the sharp teeth, and claws, and powers, but in another he wasn't sure what to expect. Tom was unique, for all Dave knew he could miraculously combust, or grow another head, ok unlikely he'd be able to do _**that**_ , but last month he did turn his head 180 degrees which freaked Dave out just as much as growing another head would.

Before, or rather last month, Tom had a few demon babysitters help take care of him when his parents were unable to. But that turned out to be a mistake fast, next to how ignorant a lot of them were to taking care of a "Half-breed", there were also those that couldn't even make it to the end of the day because Tom got so out of control when he threw fits.

Dave didn't miss them at all frankly, even thought he knew how bad Tom could be with fits.

No more babysitters, clearly it was up to them to adjust and find time for at least one of them to watch him. Dave looked at his son, sometimes it was hard to believe what he was capable of at such a young age, he just looked so harmless and innocent sometimes.

Tom gnawed more on Dave's arm, and Dave couldn't help but smile as if this was the purest thing he'd ever seen.

"You're a handful...", Dave scratched Tom's head and in response the little one made some happy baby noises, "I wish I could find a way for you to sleep easier...". Tom turned his attention towards his father, and curiously reached out to touch his face, then he took hold of his father's nose.

"Ow, tom...tom...no...", the king carefully removed Tom's hands from his, "Don't pull on daddy's nose...". Tom didn't seem to like that though, and he started to cry, and soon after there came the fire. Dave was used to Tom's fits, and he was used to dealing with them whenever the little demon was upset.

What was wasn't used to, was being accidentally set on fire.

Dave panicked so hard that if he weren't careful Tom might've fallen off his lap, he thought fast and sat Tom down on a nearby couch so he could quickly put himself out, slapping the flames off him. He was cautious about fire, he lived in a world surrounded by it, he just wasn't used to being this close with it.

He breathed quickly, trying to calm himself down, to see Tom laughing and enjoying the show, lying down on a pillow and clapping his hands together. Dave shook his head and sighed, "I know you think it's funny, but fire hurts daddy too Tom, let's not do that again...".

Tom continued to laugh though, and Dave was about to pick him up when he noticed something.

Tom was happy, while lying down, his horns weren't bothering him.

"Hmmm..."

Dave picked his son back up and held him close, then took a look at the pillow he'd been lying on. Tom playfully starting biting his shoulder, and Dave picked up the pillow and called for a servant, who quickly made his way over to him.

"King Lucitor! How may I be of service?"

Dave handed him the pillow, "I'd like to know If I can get a special one of these made...".

* * *

Wrathmelior's growls of concern as she watched Dave put Tom to bed were taken note of by the king, who only gave her a comforting smile. "Mel, he's going to be fine, see with this pillow it props his head up so he doesn't turn it and therefore won't let his horns wake him up..".

She looked skeptical, but he didn't.

"Mel, we gotta try something, waking up in the middle of the night to put Thomas back to bed is not only hurting us, but him. I don't have horns but I kinda don't need any to figure out that they're hurting him and we need a better strategy if we're going to make it easier for all of us..", he placed a nice new custom pillow for Tom in his crib, and handed Tom one of his favorite plushes that looked as though Tom had been teething a lot with it.

She made some more growing noises and Dave sighed, "I know, I know he'll grow out of it...but...I just want to worry about him now, I-I just...I hate seeing him cry and be in pain and not being able to do anything about it...he's already gonna grow up in a kingdom that we both know is iffy about him not being a full demon...I just...want him to be a happy kid for a little while before that happens...".

He thought back to all the babysitters who called Tom a half-breed and refused to accept him as their prince and sighed, "It's worth a shot, and he at least deserves having one less problem in his life if we can fix it..".

Wrathmelior nodded, understanding, and gave him an ok without words.

Tom looked up at his father, making giggly noises, but also looking tired after a long day. He looked so tiny, and small, and fragile, and Dave felt a few tears coming on, "Hey Tom, Daddy's ok, he just wants to make sure you get some sleep tonight ok?"

Dave held Tom close and petted his pink hair, soothing him, he rocked him and hummed for a little bit. Tom yawned, exposing all his little teeth, and closing all three of his eyes. Dave carefully laid Tom down on the pillow and tucked him in with his covers, before carefully and quietly making his way to bed.

The demon queen looked at him with curiosity as he proudly found his spot on their larger then life bed, "Get some sleep, if all goes well, more nights from now on will be more quiet...". She complied and lied down on the bed, face staring at the ceiling like per usual.

Tom didn't cry at all that night.

He never looked so peaceful as he did the next morning, his soft snores and his little smile made both his parents exchange happy looks.

This was the start of a new tradition.

* * *

"Hey Tom, what is this old thing?", Marco said, pulling out an old pillow from one of the boxes in Tom's closet. A 14 year old Tom turned around from playing video games to stare at the old pillow, before pausing and getting up to check it out, and taking it from Marco.

Marco had been looking for some new video games for them to play, only to pull out a very smelly old pillow. Tom looked at the old thing, a warm smile spreading upon his face, the memories flooded back to him quickly and he felt himself tear up just a little bit.

"Oh man, I Haven't seen this old thing in forever...", Tom carefully held it in his hands, he could see all the familiar spots he chewed up and drooled on. Marco still looked very confused and Tom replied with a laugh, his face a bit red, "It's uh...it's my old baby pillow, I've had it since I was little, to help with my horn development...".

He reached up to feel one of his said horns, still red-faced from showing his old pillow to Marco.

"Horn development?", Marco asked, Tom smiled, "It's hard to sleep and such when your body keeps forcing you on your horns. M-my dad sorta found out propping my head up with one of these kept me from hurting myself when they were still growing, and the underworld after that adapted and made bedtime pillows for whatever horns you have as a demon...it's uh...it's silly..".

"Silly? No that...sounds kind've cool.", Marco commented, " I guess I never really thought much about your horns making sleep harder for you...". Tom smiled, "Yeah, it's the worst, but I loved this old thing, I used this thing for years and it meant a lot to me...".

"Why'd you stop?", Marco asked.

"I grew up, kids picked on me...I felt embarrassed for having it...", Tom looked at it, trying to shove away the painful memories away. "It was stupid...I just...it was so easy to make me cry back then, to push my buttons and hurt me...".

Marco placed a hand on his back, "Your dad created a new trend to help other demons from taking care of you? That's not silly at all, That's actually really cool...".

Tom looked over the pillow again and held the pillow close to him, now smiling and humming to himself.

"Yeah...Dad is pretty cool..."


	3. Small Baby, Big Problems

She was not fit to be a mother.

At least it felt like that half the time.

Tom was practically the size of a pebble in comparison to her, too small to even lift with her fingertips. It was like from the moment he was born she was unable to hold him, unable to play with him, unable to do all the things mothers were supposed to do.

Accidentally hitting chandeliers, being unable to sit in chairs, and not being able to enter rooms were infuriating enough. But nothing compared to the fury and heartbreak she had the moment she realized being a mother to her son was somehow a danger to his life.

She'd probably attempt to hold him, but even she knew the risk wasn't worth it. She thought about this as soon as they found out how small the baby was, they were almost worried he wouldn't have been able to be born considering the size, and she was sure that's when she officially started worrying she was a danger to him. Tom was a miracle, a precious miracle, the last thing she wanted was to see him hurt and she made that obviously clear from then on.

Dave noticed that fast, as the tasks that took care of Tom regularly went to him

He held Tom, tucked him in, burped him, fed him, played with him, bathed him, and did all the other things a parent should get to do with their child. His wife was almost nowhere in sight, and whenever she was she just stared at him and Tom longingly.

Dave felt bad, he had the advantage to be able to take care of the child because he was the size of most creatures on mewni, but not everyone clearly did.

He's tried to talk to her about it, but there were times she clearly didn't want to talk judging by her silence.

She just sat there, staring off somewhere, keeping her thoughts to herself and not responding to Dave whenever he tried to comfort her about it. Dave tried his best to say it's ok, and things will improve but there wasn't he could do about the situation.

A few comforting hand hugs and smooches were not going to fix this.

She spent more time in her room as of lately, and Dave decided not to bother her, she clearly wanted some space and bothering her didn't seem to be helping. Taking Tom with him, it wasn't long before he was sitting down with the Butterfly's at their dinner table for tea.

Or er, sitting down with Moon specifically, River went off to go do "Treaties", which Dave knew he meant "Fighting Monsters" in River speak. Moon didn't seem to know about that though, so perhaps it was best to not get involved in their business.

Tom sat on his father's lap, only 5 months old and asleep. Moon sipped her tea and just stared at him and Dave could feel his protective instincts kick in and hold him slightly closer to himself at the sight of Moon's gaze upon his little boy. Moon ended the awkward silence rather quickly, "So, I choose not to say anything because I didn't want to question it too hard, but...I have to, why did you bring your son here?".

Dave took another sip of tea, refusing to look Moon directly in the eyes, "Because i'm his father..."

"Yes, that I know, but why is he _**here**_?", She asked again, a little bit more impatient this time.

"Why not?", he responded bitterly.

Her eyes narrowed," Because he's a baby, he's too young to be here, couldn't you have left him back home with Wrathmelior since she decided not to come today?". Dave resisted trying to let any of his anger get to him, although his annoyance was showing "No, I _**couldn't**_ , so now he's here so i can watch him, can we move on now?".

"No we can't, it sounds like there's a problem with leaving him at home?", Dave said nothing, choosing to ignore the queen. Moon's eyes narrowed, "It's because you don't think Mel is capable to take care of Thomas on her own, isn't it?".

Dave scowled at her, "No, it's not, Mel is more then capable to love and care for anything and anyone!".

"Then why is thomas _**here**_...?", she asked again.

"because she doesn't **_think_** the same way!", Dave raised his voice, practically yelling for a moment, then he looked to his lap, thankfully Tom was still asleep and he hadn't woken up at all because of him. "S-she doesn't think she's capable to take care of him like a mother should...s-she doesn't want to be in the same room as Tom half the time..".

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down so he didn't wake up his sleeping son, "He's here because someone needs to watch him, and right now i don't feel comfortable leaving him with a sitter, so I didn't have much of a choice...".

"I'm sure someone could have watched him...", Moon added, "You're the king i'm sure you know plenty of trustworthy-". Dave held his hand out to silence her, " _ **Don't**_ , Tom gets dirty looks for what he is no matter where he goes and he's only a _**baby**_ , right now I feel comfortable keeping him in sight and i don't suggest telling me i'm being dramatic because i'm worried for my family...".

Moon silenced herself on the matter, "Well, if you only trust him between you and Mel, then you better talk to her...". Dave took another sip of his tea, he was calm now, but he still glared at Moon. "Tried, she doesn't want to talk about it, she ignores my presence each time...like she doesn't even think i'm there...", he glanced at his son, who was leaning more into his arm.

Moon resisted the urge to make a joke about their height differences and moved on.

"But she knows i'm there...and i'm just trying to help but...she's just in a deep mood and I can't break her out of it...I just think having me take care of Tom makes it worse for her, but someone has to take care of him...she wants to be a mom...", Moon sighed, "Well you can't give up, if talking isn't working it's time to do something else...".

"I'm not letting you or anyone do magic on Tom to make him bigger...no way...", Dave said right away, Moon shrugged, "It was worth a shot, since we can't just shrink her...that would be too easy, but no ,she and her type had to have an immunity to mewman magic...".

"I just wanted to not let this get to her but...i guess i can't relate...", Dave bit his lip and stared at his lap in shame, "I wish there was more i could do...".

Moon looked at him sadly, and tried to smile, "You know it sounds odd coming from you, to give on something that matters so much to you...". Dave looked up at her in question, "What are you talking about Moon?, she shrugged and looked down at Tom.

"Well, your parents and the demons of the underworld weren't fond of you being the new king of the underworld, that didn't seem to stop you...", She started, "When they told you you wouldn't be able to have a kid, and any kid of yours would never be accepted that didn't stop you, why should this?".

Granted, Moon knew she was one of the people who thought they'd never be able to have kids, but that was besides the point.

Dave bit his lip, "I dunno...I just...". Actually he remembered a time well back when Wrathmeloir was crying over the fact she might not be able to have a baby, lava tears streaming down her face, it made the day she found out she was pregnant all the more special to her.

She never looked so happy and excited in her life.

And now, all that almost seemed to be gone. She loved Tom, that was clear, but that only made the situation worse as time went on. Dave almost felt himself crying for a second there before he wiped his eyes and cooled himself down, he held Tom close and stood up.

"Thanks for the tea moon, but i-i'm gonna head back home, I...need to put Tom to bed somewhere better and I have things I need to take care of...", He whistled for his carriage and it rose out of the floor in a whiff of fire much to Moon's displeasure.

She groaned, "Fine, take care...we'll try and meet up again with our spouses next time...I'm still not sure exactly what treaties River is doing but this is the third even this week he's missed because of them..."

Dave rolled his eyes and strapped Tom up in his baby seat, "Ok...".

"And dave?"

He looked up at her.

"Good luck and take care.", She said gently, Dave smiled and closed the door of his carriage before they descended back into the underworld.

* * *

Dave entered their bedroom carefully with Tom in his arms, opening the door slightly to see the demon queen facing away and sadly looking at a wall. He sighed and made his way over to Tom's crib, placing the sleeping baby inside and tucking him in before turning to his wife.

She didn't even acknowledge he entered the room, nor did she when made his way onto their bed with the lift and took a seat next to her, leaning against her gently. He didn't know what to say first, he knew he just had to say something to her and silence wasn't an option.

"Mel...we need to talk...", He started, "And I know I've been trying to talk to you for awhile but...I just...I want you to listen ok? You don't have to reply to me or say anything or whatever, I just...I need to talk to you...". Wrathmelior didn't say anything but she did make a growl of acknowledgement to let him know she heard him.

"Mel,We both love Tom, he's our whole world now and we're gonna do all we can to be great parents...but...you're not getting a chance to be his mother. You seem so scared to even touch him, and...it hurts to watch you cry like this...it's not fair you have to watch him grow up without you...".

She turned her head away slightly and Dave started to pet her slightly, "I know it seems hopeless now, that things aren't going to change, but we're not going to let this stop you from being a part of Tom's life...we wanted to be parents, and we're going to be parents, both of us..."

She turned to stare down at him with all three of her glowing eyes, before Dave felt himself being picked up by a much larger hand and raised up to be right in front of her face. He was used to this of course, but it was always surprising when he didn't see it coming beforehand.

Dave sat down in her hand and looked right at her, before continuing, "Tom needs you just as much as he needs me, and I need you too, I'm still...I'm still a hothead and i get angry sometimes and I just...Tom deserves to have someone as caring as you looking out for him and I don't want anything to stop that...". Wrathmeloir growled, finally speaking to him, and Dave turned red, "No, i-i'm not...i'm not, sometimes i'm worried i'll snap in front of him and he'll be scared of me...".

Her ears drooped and Dave felt one of her fingers pet him, he gave a weak laugh, "I guess we're both scared to hurt him one way or another...aren't we? Scared to be parents...". He felt tears coming on and he wiped them away, "I-I'm sorry, i'm making this about me, and your issues are much more important an-".

He felt her lean in and kiss his small forehead, and he closed his eyes. He could tell she was trying to let him know his issues were just as important as hers, and maybe he was going to choose not to think he deserved that kind of sympathy but right now it seemed to give him enough strength to continue.

"Mel, we've...we've conquered a lot together, a lot that we thought we couldn't...and I just...I don't want us to give up now. I know it's hard for you especially and...I'm gonna do everything I can to help you be the mother you wanted to be...". He let tears flow more freely now, "I want to be parents with you, nothing will change that, I think you're more then capable to take care of Tom and If you need help I'm here for you...".

She gave him a smile and nuzzled up to him, and he pressed his forehead to hers.

"It's nice seeing you smile again...", He said softly, trying not to cry, "I missed that...". He kept nuzzling to her for a little while till he heard some small noises going on in the background, Wrathmeloir turned her head to see Tom was awake in his crib now. She allowed Dave to step off her hand and to the floor and he quickly made his way to Tom and picked him up, but Tom turned his head to face the giant demon and reached his little hands out to her, making more noises.

Dave smiled gently, "I...I think he wants to see his mom...".

The giant demon crouched down and looked at the smaller demon, and reached a hand out to him, only pressing her finger to him, which the tiny demon tried to grasp with his tiny hand but to little success. He was laughing though, holding onto her finger. He didn't seem scared of her at all, or even of the mewman holding onto him, just wide awake and ready to chew on whatever he could get his little claws on.

Dave and Wrathmeloir looked at each other with happy smiles.

"We're gonna make this work...not just for us, but for him...".


	4. Freaks Of The Underworld

The carriage pulled over to the side of the elementary school in a fit of fire, drawing the attention of all the little demon students who were walking home or being picked up by their own parents today. It was a sight to see, but then again what else does one expect of the Lucitor's carriage?

They were the designated royals after all, this only felt fitting for their arrival.

The carriage door opened and an oddly normal look man in fancy clothing stepped out, adjusting his crown and scoping the scene in front of him. Demon children were walking past him, some giving him dirty looks, but Dave didn't care as he was only here for his son, Thomas.

It was his turn to pick him up from school today after all.

Most princes and princess learned from private tutors rather then go to any public school but Tom insisted, and well, his parents couldn't deny his wishes of wanting to make friends. He was only 8 years old and he needed to meet his citizens someday. Dave was cautious of course, making sure he was under guard 24/7 and making himself full clear to the school's staff that if they hurt a hair on his head he'd _**publicly**_ take care of them himself. But it was about a week in and so far Tom seemed fine, he didn't seem happy per say, but he seemed decent enough.

But it was immediately apparent something was wrong today, and Dave noticed it quickly when he looked around to not find Tom anywhere. He always told Tom to wait for him, because Dave had a small fear of him being kidnapped or harmed when he wasn't in his sight and his absence here only grew that fear as the school emptied even more much to his worry.

He relaxed, maybe tom was slightly late today? And he'd run out immediately to head home.

A few minutes passed, the parking lot emptied out, and yet no sign of his son.

"Tom? Tom!", He called out, but with no answer. Then he heard footsteps and turned around to face Tom's personal bodyguards, who were both out of breath and utterly terrified, and Dave wasn't sure if they were scared of him or whatever was the reason for Tom's absence.

Either way, something was wrong and they were at fault.

"Your Majesty!" , said one, "You're here! W-we...w-we're uh...". The king's brows furrowed and he was trying not to show himself dying inside, "Where's _**Thomas**_... he's not out here to be picked up like he normally is? You two were supposed to be watching him...". The two guards gulped, "Sir, we have no idea! We got separated from him and we haven't seen him since! Honest!".

"THEN GO FIND HIM!", Dave barked at them, and the nodded yes and ran off as fast as they could to continue searching around the school. After they left, the anger on the man's face left and his face turned into one of deep worry and concern. He was jumping to conclusions, Tom could be in the bathroom, or maybe he forgot something inside, but if something happened to Tom Dave knew he'd never forgive himself. he ordered the skeleton horse to wait outside and he made his way inside the school to look for his son.

His first instinct was to ask the staff for assistance, and they had no choice but to help anyway if hey knew what was good for them.

However he found the teachers there were no help, and even when he made them search the entire school from top to bottom they couldn't find a little demon with three eyes, pink hair, and lilac skin. Tom wasn't here, and Dave's heart dropped more and more as every room was confirmed to not contain the missing boy.

Dave was about to go home and call for a search of the underworld, before he walked past Tom's normal classroom, or rather his homeroom. His teacher was still there, working on grading some new homework in, and Dave strolled in suspiciously. Tom described this room for the last few days and he knew it had to be the same one, the teacher looked up to the mewman in surprise and then anger, whether for strolling in or for him being mewman Dave didn't care. "Oh, your highness, still haven't found your son?", she asked, continuing to work on her grading.

Dave crossed his arms, and paced around the room scanning it thoroughly himself as another teacher had claimed to check it earlier. "No, i haven't, but considering you're his teacher, I'd like to ask you some questions if you don't mind?"

She narrowed all her eyes, and Dave held his hands out, " I'm not accusing you of anything m'am, but I do want to know how long my son has been gone in your care so i have better chances of finding him...". The teacher remained calm in his presence, "He left the classroom to go home, just like all the other students, that's the last time i saw him...".

He raised an eyebrow and continued to scope around the room more closely.

A Glimpse of something pink could be seen peeking out from under a beanbag and Dave walked over to it immediately much to the Teacher's distress , the king pulled it out to find a pink rabbit backpack, his son's backpack in fact. Dave stared at it a really long time, someone had been poorly trying to hide this thing, and it looked as if they were in a rush to hide it too.

What happened next, wasn't pleasant.

Mostly for the teacher, as Dave stalked forward to her, holding up the pink backpack with a dark expression on his face. She shook in her seat, Dave wasn't a demon but he sure could make himself scary when he wanted to be.

"Look...it's.."

" _ **Where's my son...?**_ "

She panicked, closing her eyes and spilling out everything, "He's been missing since recess, he never came back but no one could find him anywhere...that's all i know i swear!". Dave grumbled, but he didn't interrogate her any further, although his anger and worry was only rising.

"My lord, we can't find Thomas anywh-", one of the demon guards entered the room and paused, shivering at the king's expression. Dave pointed towards Tom's homeroom teacher, "Stay here and keep an eye on her, i'll be right back, I want to go check the playground myself...".

"Sir, the fence surrounding that and the rest of the back of the school is locked-"

"And that means no one's checked it yet...", Dave grumbled," If Tom was there last, then i'm going to look for any signs of him, someone...most likely some kid...tried to hide his backpack in this classroom...probably to draw less attention to his absence...a kidnapper would never do that...they wouldn't need to because making the effort to sneak into this classroom to hide this is a waste of time...".

The demon guard looked surprised, "W-what are you saying?"

Dave walked past him and out the classroom door, glaring at him,"Just stay here, some kid did something to my son and i'm gonna find out what..".

* * *

Dave wandered into the back of the school building alone, the demon janitor bowing to him as he walked past and closed the gate door behind him. The playground was empty, but it was a big area anyway, there had to be something here if this is where Tom was seen last.

Dave started with the playground, looking on the ground and examining all the play gear, trying to find any trace he could of Tom. "Tom?! Tom!?", He called out for what felt like the 50th time since he arrived, he'd been here for a few hours and his heart only dropped more and more each minute.

He held the backpack close to him, he couldn't give up on Tom just yet, he'd search every inch of the underworld if he had to. His search of the playground was very thorough, even if any logical person would know full well his attempts at examining the dirt for his son wouldn't do much.

Footprints, a sign of a tussle, anything he could use to track his son. But there was nothing, it was almost as if Tom wasn't here at all, that or there was just no evidence here to help him. The playground was empty, void of any hope, this was his last chance to find his son! Why did he follow some desperate idea he had instead of calling some real investigators in? If he wasn't here...

Dave suddenly dropped to his knees, what if he couldn't find Tom? What would he tell Wrathmeloir? He knew allowing Tom to attend public school was a bad idea, he should've put his foot down the moment Tom suggested it! Or boosted the number of private guards! Or supervised Tom himself! Or anything he could possible have done to make sure this never happened!

He felt tears start to well up, ones he knew he'd been hiding behind anger as soon as he realized Tom was gone. He felt like screaming, and he was about to, when someone seemed to have beaten him too it. The king noticed there was a glow behind him and turned around to see some fire dispensing from another back part of the building, specifically where the dumpster was.

Dave stood up, and he didn't hesitate to run as fast as possible to the location of the fire, where he found an extremely melted dumpster bin with a small and dirty demon crying inside of it. Dave felt himself start to cry again, but this time with a smile growing on his face, it was Tom.

He found his son, he wasn't kidnapped or dead or- he was right here this whole time! Dave never felt so happy his son's fire powers tied into his emotions, if it weren't for his anger issues...he might have never found his son. Thank Judas he was ok, Tom was ok..

He was almost about to reach out to Tom let out another cry and it made him stop in his tracks.

Tom looked awful, he smelled awful, he looked bruised and hurt and oh god what happened to him?

"Tom...?"

Tom sniffled and finally seemed to notice his father's presence, the little boy looked as if he'd been crying here for hours. Dave didn't approach him, Tom didn't look as if he wanted to be approached at the moment, but he stared at his father a long time and then proceeded to jump out of what was left of the dumpster into his fathers arms.

"D-Dad..."

Dave sat and held him for a short him, relieved to see him ok but also scared to know what led to this, he petted Tom's head. "Tom, It'll be ok...i'm here ok?", Tom sniffled and cried into his shirt, sinking his nails into him and never wanting to let go, Dave felt a mix of joy for finding his son and anger at whoever was responsible for this.

But right now, all he wanted to do was get Tom home, clean him up, and help him feel better. He picked the little boy up, he was getting kinda heavy but right now that didn't matter, "C'mon Tom, we're gonna head home ok?"

Tom nodded softly, shoving his face into his father's shoulder, Dave carefully placed the small pink backpack on his son and carried the small boy to the carriage, pulling out his compact phone to call the guards and let them know Tom was found and they could stop searching.

Dave kept Tom close to him as the carriage made it's way back home, letting Tom cry into his shirt.

He could ask him about what happened later.

* * *

Tom was given a bubble bath and a change of clothes before heading back into his bedroom where Dave sat, holding a bowl of ice cream for him. Tom's eyes lit up and he immediately jumped on his bed and grabbed the bowl to begin shoving the delicious substance in his mouth.

Dave grinned and messed up his hair, "Feeling better?". Tom nodded and kept eating, he still seemed slightly dismal but at least he wasn't crying anymore, he finished his ice cream and placed the bowl next to him on the bed. He leaned into his father, and Dave wrapped an arm around him which Tom seemed fine with. They sat in silence for a bit, Dave didn't want to push his son about what happened today, despite how angry he was at whatever happened.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, you look better...and at least your injuries were minor...", He looked at the small animal print band-aids Tom had on his legs and arms as Tom's legs hung off the bed and kicked around. "Mommy is glad to hear you're alright too, she was so worried about you when I told her about today's events...", Tom bit his lip, "I'm sorry I made you and mommy scared, I didn't mean to...". His dad instincts kicked in and he kissed Tom's head, "It's ok Tom, we're just glad you're safe...we're always worried about you.."

Tom's smile fully dropped, along with his pointed ears, a guilty expression upon his face.

"Dad?", Dave raised an eyebrow and looked at his son who was looking off into the distance. "Yes Tom?", Tom shifted his eyes towards the floor and he started awkwardly playing with his hands, "Do you and mommy think i'm a...freak?".

"Tom...did someone tell you that today?", He bit his lip in concern as his son nodded slowly.

Dave's hand that wasn't holding Tom clutched the bed sheet in anger, he knew this talk might come someday, but this being the reason for today's actions only seemed to make him more and more upset. "Tom, goodness no, you're absolutely wonderful and we love you very much just how you are.". Tom kept fiddling with his shirt collar, "No one else seems to...everywhere I go I feel l-like everyone looks at me funny, or w-wants me to go away...".

Dave sighed, he hated seeing Tom feel like the world was against him, "Thomas, remember when I took you to visit your grandparents...my parents? And they were very mean to both of us?".

Tom nodded, "You told me it didn't matter what they think...cause they didn't matter".

"Yeah, I did...well i didn't exactly say they didn't matter but...then again as far as i'm concerned they are no family of ours anyway.", Dave took a deep breath, "Tom, i want you to remember that now. There are going to be mean people like that out there, like your grandparents, and like whoever hurt you today...they're going to try and hurt us...make us hate ourselves...but don't listen to them. They'd be lucky to have you around and it's their loss if they chose not to see it...".

Dave bit his lip, his shoulders sinking, "And none of this is your fault...if any...it's mine...first non demon king of the underworld, who produced the first half-demon heir to it's throne, if it wasn't for me marrying into the throne you wouldn't be so sad and i wouldn't have to be so angry doing my job...".

"b-but then you wouldn't have mommy, or me!", Tom commented, forcing a smile out of his father. "Yeah, that would really suck, you two are the light of my life down here. Daddy gets bullied too, but i feel a bit better every day just having you two around...", Tom wrapped his arms around his father, pulling him in for a hug.

Dave smirked before wrapping his arms around his son and then proceeding to tickle him, first surprising the demon and then causing him to laugh happily. Tom tried to fight back with his little claws but to no avail, the tickle monster had defeated him.

Dave stopped messing with the little boy and Tom had a genuine smile upon his face, he smiled at his father, but then shifted his eyes off to the side. Dave resumed petting the little demon's head, "You don't have to talk about today if you don't want to..I won't make you...".

Tom bit his lip, "Well...w-we went to recess today, and the kids were whispering stuff about me...calling me a freak, and that i'm no prince to t-them...", Tom looked almost as if he was about to cry again. "I tried to ignore them...but then one of them pushed me onto the ground and I h-hurt my knee and t-then...", Dave put his hand on his son's shoulder, "Tom...you don't h-". Tom shook his head, "They kicked me, a-and said more mean things a-about me a-and you guys and then I-I...", he looked at his hands.

"You blew up...didn't you?", Dave finished, and Tom nodded, holding his head in his hands. "T-They called me a freak and r-ran away...a-and...I-I hid myself in the trash...cause that's where all the other garbage goes...", Dave muttered curses under his breath before forcing himself to remain calm, "Tom, you are not trash, far from it...I'm so sorry tom."

"The other kids tricked m-my guards into thinking i was still in the classroom s-so they couldn't save me...they blinded them with spitballs...", Tom said through tears, "I-I just...". Dave kept a comforting hand on him, having him let it all out.

"You w-were right about school...I-I...", Tom sniffled, and his father held him close, "No no no, I was keeping you from any chance of making friends with other kids...and this meant a whole lot to you, I'm just sorry this happened to you...I...I should have done more...".

Tom sniffled, "I don't want to go back...all the kids hate me...they think i'm a freak and...i scared them all away...". Dave held him close again, "I won't make you go back, from now on you can have a private tutor here at the castle...ok?".

Tom nodded.

A few minutes passed, The prince's cries softened, and it seemed like Tom was tired as his eyelids drooped, ready for a nap. Dave picked his son up and properly tucked him in his small bed, handing him one of his favorite stuffed animals, he then took a seat on the bed himself. Tom smiled and sniffled, and Dave helped wipe his tears away from all of his eyes.

"You know Tom, you have an advantage over me down here...at least you look like a demon, you can always blend in the crowd. Me? I'm just a weird mewman, I'll never be able to fit in down here no matter how hard I want to...", he was smiled but Tom could sense his sadness, "Sometimes I wish i could be a demon, like you and your mother...things would be so much easier that way for all of us...".

Tom grabbed his father's hand, "But I like you how you are!", he protested.

Dave hugged his son once more, "I like how you are too, no matter what people say I think you're wonderful Tom, now it's time for all the little demons to go to bed...". Tom snorted, "Daaaddd! it's not even dinner time yet!", Dave put him back into his bed and tucked him in. "I know, but right now you seem tired and you should get some rest...your daddy is gonna handle the school situation ok?"

"Ok.."

"I'll wake you up just before dinner, then we'll eat together, but for now just rest up..", Dave planted a kiss on Tom's forehead, "Us freaks got to take care of each other ok?". Tom laughed and made himself comfortable, yawning, "Night daddy...".

"I'll see you soon Thomas...", Dave stood up, stretching himself out and started to make his way out of Tom's room when he heard Tom mutter something. "I love you dad...", Dave almost felt like crying, he almost didn't want to leave and he probably wouldn't have if he didn't have other things to attend to today.

"I Love you too...".

He made his way out quietly and carefully.

* * *

Dave hunched himself over his work, paperwork, his _**favorite**_ , but he needed to get it done whether he wanted to or not. A demon server came in and brought him his tea and as he took it off the tray and took a sip, the server noticed his expression and carefully chose to talk to him,"I heard Prince Thomas was harmed today...are you alright sir?", the server carefully asked.

Dave ran a hand through his hair, and the demon almost regretted choosing to talk to him before he replied to his question.

"No, i'm not alright...", the king's grumpiness returned, "There's no way i can ever be "Alright" with my son being treated like that...". He took another sip and the server helped fill up more of his cup, "But...", The king went on, "I don't want to scare him...or make his day any worse, I can put up with my anger for one day for his sake...".

Granted, Dave was happy whenever a demon around here at least tried to show some kindness and concern towards him and Tom, even if he was skeptic they only did it because they were the ones in charge of them. He only wished kids would at least have tried for Tom's sake

The server smiled,"Even if that means hiding your angering feelings? You must really love him then Sir...".

Dave eyed towards a picture he kept on his desk whenever he was forced to sit here and do paperwork, one of Tom, as a baby. Before he had his horns and when he hands were even tinnier then they were already, sleeping quietly and nestled into a stuffed animal.

The king smiled meekly to myself, "I'm always angry, believe me...and those kids, the guards, and that school are going to be punished if i have any say in it...but Tom doesn't need it. I never want him to feel like he's...wrong...".

Dave clutched the pen he was holding harder, "I'm...angry...beyond belief...but I love Tom more then all the rage i have in the world combined...".

The demon server smiled sweetly, "You're a good dad your majesty..".

Dave huffed, "Well, I don't know if i'm good...but I _**am**_ trying...and he deserves to feel safe and comfortable around here, even if I may never do so myself..", he took another sip of tea then he put it down immediately and turned to the server as if he just realized who he was.

"Wait a second, what are you still doing here? You got a dozen other staff to bring tea to, Back to work!".


	5. Family

"I got you beat diaz!", Tom said, hitting the ball back to marco who dodged the ping pong ball just in time for it to miss his head. Tom laughed and Marco grumbled, going to retrieve the ball, "I forget why I even play this with you Tom! You keep cheating!".

Tom continued to laugh, "Just because i'm winning doesn't mean I cheated Marco!".

"Riggghttttt", He grabbed the ball for another round, "After this let's wtach a movie or something, i'm getting tired of ping pong.."

"Awww, party pooper!", Tom said, still smiling, "C'mon diaz we've only been playing for 20 minutes!". Marco served the ball, "And with you, that's long enough...who taught you how to play this game anyway!?". Tom hit it back and it hit Marco square in the chest, knocking him back, and marco winced in pain a little bit as Tom reached out a hand for him.

"Ehhh, my parents helped, mostly my Dad, although my Mom has some pretty sweet tips despite not being able to hold a paddle herself without breaking it..", Marco took Tom's hand and the demon stood him up. "Maybe I should play with your parents from now on, i'm sure they cheat less then you...", Tom rolled his eyes, "Oh stop with that...I'm just good at the game, even my parents aren't that great at it...".

Marco watched Tom return to his end of the table,"Well, your dad doesn't have magic skills...right?".

"You don't need magic, just alot of practice...", Tom replied, "But anyway, my Dad learned from his mother back in the day and so he and I started to play for a bit until I got really good at it, so now I guess it's something I just like doing." He eyes the golden ping pong champion trophy on his desk, "At least I have some hobbies outside of demon junk, prince stuff, and Love Sentence...".

Tom Served, and Marco managed to hit it back to him, " _ **His**_ mother? I don't think you've ever really talked about your grandparents before, Tom...". Tom hit the ball back, a little bit weaker then he usually did, "We-I don't really like to talk about them much, I've only met them once when I was 6 and I haven't seen them since...".

He sounded rather...depressed now.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my grandfather passed away a few ye-", Marco started before Tom interrupted suddenly, "No! It's...They're not dead...at least...I don't think so..". Marco felt his stomach drop and Tom seemed to have set himself down to be even slower, he seemed unfocused now.

Marco noticed Tom's movements slowing down and his face shifted into concern, "I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...". Marco missed the ball that time, but he seemed to care a little less, even Tom wasn't laughing anymore, "It's ok Marco, It's not a big deal...".

"No Tom, Hey...It is a big deal...I shouldn't have asked...I-", Tom stared at the floor, completely gone from the game-on attitude he had earlier.

"You ok?", Tom sighed and put his paddle down, taking a seat on a nearby beanbag instead, "Just give me a minute...". Marco bit his lip and walked over to his friend, and he noticed a stray cheek run down his face, "Hey...I'm sorry if I brought up anything painful...I didn't mean to...".

"No it's...it's just me...", Tom said, "I always kinda get emotional when I think about them...". Marco sat next to Tom, and Tom wiped his eyes, "I dunno, it's just I don't have a lot of family, and when I was a kid I guess I was hoping to meet more of my family. My Mom's parents I've seen a few times but they're almost always out enjoying retirement and even then they're usually quiet and really don't spend a ton of time with me, but I guess they're neutral to dad...".

"Oh, That...sounds rough..", Marco added, Tom huffed in response to his friend. " Try being a little kid with no friends and who constantly has no one but his parents having his back, all these holidays that had you spend time with your family, and having so many birthdays just pass you by...and the only people who showed up were my own parents. It felt like...my family didn't...care about me." Tom bit his lip, holding back tears, "But like usual, I shut up about it...moved on...and I was happy and forgot all that junk...".

Marco was about to tell Tom it was ok, he didn't have to talk about it if he didn't want to, but Tom sounded like he needed to get this out. So Marco let him continue talking, "I knew plenty about my demon grandparents, only because they were the previous leaders of the underworld and they sorta showed up...sometimes..."

Tom bit his lip, "But I never saw or heard anything about my mewman grandparents for years...until my dad mentioned them a long time ago..."

* * *

Six-year old Tom ran down the hallway and to his father's study, he was wearing his favorite dragon onesie and he was totally gonna scare his father _**this**_ time. His Dad wasn't an easy one to surprise, and it was no wonder since he spent so much time in the underworld and had grown to expect many horrific things.

Tom had been jumping out at him any chance he could, even when he was asleep, but all he ever got was a smile, a chuckle and a pat on the head while telling him to try better next time.

He perched himself outside of the door, breathing a bit heavily from all the running, and listened in for his father's footsteps.

This one outta work, his father seemed rather distracted, the perfect time to strike!

A growl could be heard from inside, and tom giggled as it meant his mother must also have been inside. He pressed his pointed ear against the wall to hear a bit better and he could hear his father pace around in there like he always did when he was nervous.

"- dunno If that's a good Idea mel...", He grumbled, "I know it's her birthday but I just...I can't...". The queen growled in response and Tom could imagine his father rubbing his face, "I'd be lying If i said I didn't miss my parents, but...I can't see them again mel...it's just...It's not a good idea...".

Tom's eyes grew wide, His dad's parents? His dad had parents? Tom was always under the impression they weren't around or they didn't exist or something considering they never came to his birthday parties and his dad never talked about them. " I never thought mom would even contact me again after our...last conversation but...I still...I'm not going...and that's final.".

Tom frowned, why wouldn't his father want to see his parents again? When he became king, Tom always said he'd visit his parents everyday no matter what. Were they mad at him? But his dad wanted to see them again! Why would he want to see someone who was mad at him?

Tom felt himself get a little bit angry hearing his father speak, he just now heard he had other grandparents and now his father was chasing them away?

Tom stood up and instead of trying to scare his daddy like his original plan , he opened the door and walked inside, "Why don't you want to see your mama, daddy?". The king and queen were facing each other but turned around quickly when they saw Tom come in, Dave turned scarlet, how much had Tom heard?

"Tom, I-I uh...", he froze in place, not sure what to say next.

Tom tilted his head, "I'd want to see my mama, why don't you?". Wrathmeloir smiled and Dave eyed her for a bit, "Thomas, head back to your room, this is really not the time-", Tom walked forward as if he hadn't heard his father and Wrathmeloir carefully scooped him up in her hand and left it low enough for Dave to face Tom eye to eye.

"But what about me? I've never met them...", Dave crossed his arms, "There's good reason we've never let you meet them Tom, and if you're lucky you'll probably never meet them...". Tom frowned, "B-but...why not?", Tom looked like he might cry, which immediately started to worry Dave.

"Tom, your grandmother invited me to her 60th birthday party, it's the first time she's contacted me since...", Dave closed his eyes,"- since before I got married to your mother, and things...were rough last time I saw her. I don't think seeing her or my father is a great idea, I should stay here, with both of you."

Tom blinked, "B-but, if she wants you to come...maybe things are fine now!", Tom perked up, ears and all. Dave sighed, "Tom, I don't know...I haven't spoken to my family in so long and I don't think...Tom you should go back to your room...".

"But it's her birthday dad! and...I never get to see any of my family...", Tom said softly, " It's like you guys want to keep me from them! Now one of them I didn't know wants to see us...and...you... ". Tears were forming in his eyes and Dave felt a tantrum coming on from the little boy, he looked to Mel worriedly, last thing he wanted was to get mad at his son.

"Mel, please put him to bed, I'll come down to talk to him later ok?", but Tom didn't seem to like that idea, biting his mother's fingers with his small teeth, but that did very little to stop his mother from carefully holding him in her hand.

"Family sticks together!", Tom screamed, Dave sighed and tried to pet Tom's head which the boy refused. "Thomas...you don't understand...", Tom cried, "But you always told me family takes care of each other and loves each other no matter what! My family doesn't even know me! They never come to see me or spend time with me and now you're telling me I can't see them!?"

"Thomas _**enough**_...", Dave said, half-yelling, before he shut himself down, "Mel, bring him to his room I...I need some time for myself...". The queen nodded and much to Tom's frustration, she carried him out of the room and left the king inside by himself.

Tom, through tears, looked back enough to see his father stare at the floor in shame and question before the door closed behind him and his mother.

* * *

Tom hid under his covers in frustration as soon as he was placed in his bed, his mother was trying to get him to come out but Tom was too mad with his father to come out. Why couldn't he go meet his grandparents? He could handle it! What if his grandparents didn't even know he existed? There wasn't anything wrong with him, right?

All he ever saw in his family were his parents and occasionally his other grandparents but that was about it! All the other demons out there had aunts, and uncles, and little cousins to play with, and Tom had none of that. He had no one but his parents, only his parents to play with, only his parents to hear stories from, it's like the rest of his family didn't care about him..

Tom felt more tears stride down his cheek when he felt another presence on the bed.

"I wanna talk to Tom a moment ok? This is between us and I think we need to discuss this... ", He heard his mother growl in response and heard her leave the room, leaving him and his father alone. Tom was stubborn, he clutched the sheets so his father couldn't pull them away, but for some reason he didn't try to.

"Thomas...I'm really sorry about earlier...", Tom could imagine his father staring at him, guilty, and looking to make Tom happy again. His father was prone to that after all, to always comfort Tom and make him feel better when he was sad.

"I-I guess i can't understand what it's like for you...not knowing much about your family...I just...I want to keep you safe.", Tom felt his father shift a bit on the bed, he could only imagine him looking at something other then Tom while he spoke.

"Tom, the truth is that I _do_ want to see my family again, I miss them, So much. But things have changed since then, I've changed, my relationship with them isn't the same way it used to be. They want someone i'm not anymore, I'll just be going back to a family who doesn't really want me for me...".

Tom came out from under the covers, "But your mom contacted you! What if she's changed too?!". Dave sighed, "I-I don't know, I want to believe that Tom, but the truth is i'm scared of having false hopes...of being disappointed and hurt again..".

Dave looked like he was about to cry and Tom crawled over to him, his stubborn anger leaving his face. Tom looked up at father, watching a stray tear slide down his cheek before clutching to his father's arm and resting his head against it.

"Tom, you want a proper family...I know...I just don't know if this is the family you want...I don't even know If this is the same family...I had..", He thought for a moment, "Some things aren't worth the risk...and I don't know if my parents are one of them.."

"But she's your mom...don't moms love their kids?", The king wiped his eyes, "Some moms do...". He looked over at his young son and picked him up to sit him in his lap, he held him close, wrapping his arms around him. "Tom, I just want to keep you safe...".

"I'll be fine, I'm tough!", Tom made a face much to his father's amusement. "I'm sure you are Tom, but I don't know if you're ready for this...", Tom gave his father puppy dog eyes, "Please daddy? Everybody deserves a second chance right? I want to meet them...and you do too...".

He sighed, holding Tom close, "Fine, I guess it can't make anything worse between me and them...might as well give them a shot...". Tom smiled and hugged his father, "YESS, I can't wait to meet them! I'm gonna meet my family dad!".

Dave sighed, placing a hand on Tom's back.

"Yeah...".

* * *

Dave looked more nervous then ever as the carriage parked outside of a cottage not far from the butterfly kingdom, He hadn't seen this place in so long, but it didn't seem like much else was changed. Wrathmelior stayed home today, but Dave was fine with that, this was something he and Tom had to face together.

They looked nice, although Dave was worried he might have already ruined his clothes and hair by all his nervous fiddling. Tom looked normal though, he looked so excited, flashing his pointed teeth while the rest of his body shook in excitement.

Dave appreciated his enthusiasm for meeting his parents, and only wished he had the same level he did.

He picked Tom up before taking a step out of the carriage and into the fresh grass, it was nice being out here in comparison to the barren rock-filled underworld. He's almost kinda missed it, missed playing out here and collecting rocks next to sword-fighting with his old mewmans friends.

Tom rarely even left the underworld, so it was no surprise he was a fan of all the green surrounding them. Dave probably would've let Tom explore a little with him by his side but he was confident to keep Tom glued to him no matter what happened tonight.

"Ok, remember what we promised?", Dave repeated to Tom, who nodded, "Always hold your hand and stay next to you, no matter what.". His father smiled and kissed his forehead, avoiding his third eye, "Good, now let's both be polite ok? No anger tonight ok?".

Tom nodded and Dave stood on the porch, this was a bad idea, he knocked on the door.

Tom's eyes widened as an old woman with silver eyes and graying brown hair put in a small ponytail open the door, Tom watched his father's expression immediately lighten up, "Mom?", her face slowly formed into a smile, "Davey? You actually came home...I...".

She looked as if she were about to hug her son, eyes full of joy and smile growing wide.

Then her eyes trailed to the small boy with horns, fangs, and multiple eyes who was staring at her in wonder.

Her smile faded fast.

"Come in...", She walked back inside slowly, and Dave followed her inside his familiar home to see his father look up from the couch. A man with grayed red-ish hair, familiar green-turquoise eyes that Tom knew from his own father, freckles, and with a longer more pointed nose.

He also brightened at the sight of Dave, and looked as if he was about to hug him when his wife pulled him aside to whisper something Tom couldn't hear. But he felt himself cling onto his father closer as he saw both of them shifting their eyes at him.

Dave grabbed Tom's hands and let him stand on the floor, "Mom, Dad, This is Thomas...he's my son...he wanted to come with me..". The Man continued to smile nervously but the women looked a little more cold, the warmth even leaving her voice as quickly as it came.

"Adopted?"

" _Biological_ ", Dave's eyes narrowed, holding Tom's hands a little tighter, "He's half demon, me and Wrathmelior have been married for awhile now, I thought you knew I was king of the underworld by now? You sent me that letter inviting me after all...". She crossed her arms, "I- _**we**_ don't really pay much attention to the news of kingdoms outside of the butterfly kingdom frankly...".

She grumbled some more, "And I didn't send you a invitation, I didn't even know where you had run off t-".

"-I sent it..." , the father stepped forward, "Linda, I told you I was going to invite him, so I actually went around an-". She huffed, "Yes, I know you invited him, I just...I had no idea where he was and when you sent it off i wasn't sure if you got it to him...and...I didn't expect to see how much he's changed since then...married to a demon? king of the underworld ? I mean we had thoughts to make you a suitor to princess Moon back then but I can't believe y-". Dave clutched his other fist, but restrained himself, "Look, you invited me here to see you on your birthday, do you want me here or not?".

The two mewmans looked at each other, the father stepped forward, "Yes, of course we do... _right_ Linda?". The woman turned around and took a seat at the dinner table, in silence, Tom felt himself start to hide a little behind his father's legs.

The man sat at the table too, but Dave didn't move, Tom still behind his legs.

He could feel Tom clutching his knees and it alerted him to turned around and get down to his level, he got on one knee and placed his arms on Tom's shoulders. "Tom, are you ok?", Tom eyes towards the couple at the table glaring at him and chose not to say anything.

"Dave, son, we do want you here, your mother wanted nothing more then to spend her 60th birthday with our family.", The man kept calm, smiling at his wife and Dave,"You've grown up so much since we last saw you , a fine looking man, hopefully we all can spend more time together and catch up on old times..."

Dave nodded, but kept most of his focus on Tom, much to his father's dismay. "Yeah maybe...I guess...", Dave wasn't even looking at his own parents, and both of them looked at each other in response and with obvious annoyance.

"Strange kid you got there...", the man said, shifting focus to what his son clearly wanted to focus on, "Didn't know mewmans and demons could have kids.."

The man lacked the cold gaze of the woman, but Tom still wasn't fond of the way he was looking at him, it reminded him of servants within the castle who lied. Who always wanted to say something about Tom, but never actually said it, instead they lied, they lied because they're scared.

"We didn't either...", Dave responded, noticing full well that Tom was growing to be uncomfortable, "When Tom was born it was one of the happiest days of my life...I just...He's a miracle...". Tom's face made Dave think maybe they should leave but then he heard his mother join in.

"I'm sure...".

Dave stood up and in front of his son, finally paying more attention to his parents, "What is _**that**_ supposed to mean?". His mother stood up herself, "Demons and Mewmans don't _naturally_ have children together, they don't naturally even get married! You're lucky alright, cause if you couldn't produce a heir then you would have completely destroyed the direct bloodline...then again, considering he's not a full-demon, it's probably ruined anyway..."

"Oh, so now you care about the demons huh?", Dave said, voice raising, "I was always under the impression you thought they were nothing more then savage monsters?". Her eyes dimmed, "From the moment you were born I told you to stay away from dangerous beings...".

"My son and Wife are _**not**_ dangerous", Dave shot back, "They're my family, they're _**your**_ family!". Linda stood up, "Those _**things**_ are not my family! You could've had a nice life instead of leaving your family for some creature! But no, you chose that demon over your own flesh and blood! You choose being with a demon over being my son!".

"Well I wanted _**both**_!", He hated yelling in front of Tom, but he couldn't control himself. "Do you have any idea how much I missed you?! How much I wanted you to see Tom? To love him? To love my family?! But no, i'm apparently not good enough to be your son unless I hate everyone who isn't like me!".

"Dave...It's...", the Father also stood up.

"Greg, no...don't bother...it was too good to be true, Dave coming home to us, I should've known better then to think my Son would actually come back to us...ever since he got here all he seems to care about is...that _**thing**_...", She looked directly at Tom, who tried to hide behind his angered father.

Greg sighed, "Dave, just go home, you're making your mother upset on her birthday..".

But that only seemed to make the king angrier.

"She flat out insulted me, my wife, and my son and the problem here is she's _**upset**_ on her birthday?", Dave said, eyes with tears, "I wanted to give you both a chance, I just wanted you guys to be apart of my life, but you couldn't even do that for me.."

His voice grew softer, he looked completely destroyed, Tom had never seen his father so upset in his life.

Tom, shaking, looked around the room to see pictures laid about. Family pictures, of his father and his parents, they looked so happy in these pictures unlike what Tom was witnessing right now. Tom felt like crying, it was all his fault this happened, he never should have came.

"Dad, you invited me here, knowing i was in the underworld...and even _**you**_ aren't siding with me!", Greg sighed, "I just thought we could spend a day together, that we could ignore everything and just spend time together like a family...but i suppose this isn't something we can pretend isn't there...".

He looked at Tom, "You love them more then us now...you love monsters, Dave, and as much as i wanted to deal with it tonight without any issues...it's clear that's just not going to work...is it?". Dave shook his head, he held Tom's hand tightly, "No...It's not...". Linda walked over to Dave who was fighting back tears, "since the day you left with that demon you are not my son anymore! So just Take that "Kid" and get lost!".

Dave closed his eyes, and officially calmed down, he picked Tom up, and proceeded to walk out.

"Let's go Tom, there's nothing more for us here...".

* * *

Tom was sure his father would have taken them straight home after that visit, but he didn't, Tom instead found their carriage on a grassy hill with a nice view of the butterfly kingdom. Dave got out of the carriage hastily and turned to Tom, "Tom, cover your ears for a bit ok?", his fists were clutched and Tom obeyed quickly.

Dave proceeded to immediately start punching a nearby tree, yelling some words Tom knew he wasn't old enough to be hearing just yet. He curled up in seat, still covering his ears, until his father came back towards the carriage, panting.

He wiped his eyes again, and looked to Tom, "I-I I'm sorry Tom...I'm sorry for...everything...". Tom uncovered his ears, "Don't cry daddy...", the small boy reached out a small hand to his father which Dave took slowly. The king sniffled, "Y-you want to...look at the view? For a second?".

Tom nodded quickly, immediately following his father outside into the fresh air. If they were going to take some time on the beautiful grassy surface, they might as well spend that time to enjoy it. Dave sat on the grass, and Tom sat next to him, staring at the heart-broken face of his father.

"I-I know I shouldn't have been surprised...", He said, "I shouldn't have, I guess there was always just a part of me who wished...and wanted so badly for things to be different. I'm...I'm such...ugh..." He punched the ground next to him, and then calmed down, "I-I'm sorry, I yelled in front of you, I hate having you see me angry like this...just like how upset I was as a kid when I saw my mother get angry...I promised to keep myself under control...and...".

He sniffled and turned towards his son, "I must have scared you...didn't I?".

Tom curled up to his father, "No...she was being mean to me...and you...".

Dave wiped his face again, "You never should have had to experience any of that, no six-year old should have. You never should have had to see your father like that with your grandparents and...It's my fault for losing control, regardless of what she said." He reached of and petted his son's head, "Sometimes i feel like you deserve a better father then me...". Tom sniffled, "I don't want anyone else...", he held his father tighter, "They won't take you away from me...".

Dave smiled weakly, "I'm not going anywhere, i'm officially disowned...". His smile faded, "I suppose you're right that i have every reason to be hurt though...with everything that happened there...", he looked around him, admiring the grassy plains and trees.

"My family used to take me for picnics here...we used to play games and sing songs and just take in how nice the view was...", The man sighed, "So much has changed since then...". Tom thoughts back to all the family portraits of his father and his family that he saw.

His felt tears welt up, "I'm so sorry dad, I'm so sorry i ruined your family...". Dave's attention turned towards his son, who looked utterly miserable and guilt-stricken, Dave looked completely shocked to hear Tom say that and put his hands on his shoulders.

"No Tom, don't blame yourself for this...you didn't ruin my family, none of this is your fault. You are wonderful and they would be lucky to have you as their grandchild, this is just...it's nothing that we can help. You can't choose who you're related to...", He bit his lip, "This all happened because of me...years ago..".

He closed his eyes, "Me and your mother started dating, and we dated for awhile, I was scared to tell them...I used to sneak out to see Mel...but one day I got the courage and...they didn't take it well. I was shunned while living in their house and eventually your grandmother had enough, We fought like what you saw, and she pushed me out of the door, telling me not to come back until I was ready to be her son again and stop chasing "Dangerous" Demons."

He chuckled a little, "She even tried to set me up on dates so i'd forget your mother and be with someone else and give her a "Normal" grandbaby , but no one could forget your mother tom...". Tom's tears seemed to be dimming a little as his father went on, "I think you can assume... I never came back home...I-I...got a job in the butterfly kingdom...stayed with some nice folk...eventually married...and had you..".

He though for a moment, and shifted his movements on the grass to get more comfortable," They always seemed to have put me in a place to make a choice, them, or the demons. And i guess when they saw you...they knew I had already made my choice and I wasn't backing out anytime soon..".

Toms sniffled quietly," W-what about your family? Y-you missed them...right?". His father opened his eyes and looked at the small boy before smiling, "Yeah, of course I missed them...it's hard not to think of the good old days...but...they're not my family anymore, **_you_** are, Tom."

He picked Tom up and set him on his lap, holding him close,"I don't regret you one bit, no matter what you may think. I've had my own fair share of mistakes...and there are times I wish I did things differently. But you're my son Thomas, I wouldn't trade you for anything...oK? Me and my family...aren't the same as we were a long time ago. But I made a choice, I choose you two, the people who really loved me and well... _ **wouldn't**_ kick me out the door when i didn't do what they wanted...".

"But-", Dave covered his son's mouth, "No buts Tom, I'm happy enough just having you around, without them in my life...". Tom stopped, enjoying the happiness shining through his father this time, Dave continued to watch the castle view.

"Tom, never let what they said get to you ok? They just wanted to hurt us, make us feel bad about ourselves...they never should have treated me, but especially you, the way they did. Don't let them get to you, they aren't your family, and you're too good for them..", Tom nodded, "Ok daddy..". By his tone he seemed unsure, but he'd take his father's word for it sooner then the people he just met not long ago.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to meet the family you imagined...I-I wish I could've provided that to you...", Tom gripped his father's shirt, clinging onto him. "It's ok...like you said...not our family anyway...right?", Tom was still crying a bit and Dave forced another smile, "Yeah, we're gonna be fine Tom...".

He bit his lip, "Y'know, being here makes me feel sad...because I grew up here with my family, but at the same time...it's so beautiful here...". Tom looked around for himself, and took in the environment around him, "Yeah, it's kinda pretty here...".

"Then...I suppose we should make some new happy memories and wash away the sad ones?", He wiped his eyes and took Tom off his lap as he begun to stand up, he held out his hand to Tom and helped him stand up. "C'mon...let's go do something fun...I don't want this visit to the surface to be wasted because of them..".

It wasn't much longer before Tom found himself sipping cornshakes with his father at one of the Butterfly Kingdom's cafes', genuine smiles on both of their faces. Tom noticed a number of other mewmans looking at him funny, but his father told him a joke and a funny story each time to clam him down.

It was only his father whose opinion mattered right now anyway.

* * *

Marco hadn't noticed while listening to Tom's story, Tom had been leaning on his shoulder and marco had been holding him with an hand on the demon's shoulder. Tom seemed to have just noticed though, as he shot up and removed himself from the other boy, "Uh...so yeah...whatever...".

Marco could see the boy's noticeable blush but said nothing about it, Tom was an emotional kid, but Marco had never had Tom open up to him so much before about his childhood. Marco bit his lip and carefully placed a hand on Tom's back, "Hey, your dad's right, y'know? You _**are**_ too good for them.".

That seemed to get a smile out of Tom, "Thanks Marco, i'm...not used to alot of people telling me that. Sometimes...I almost believe they're right...y'know? That i'm a bad person...or a mistake...". Marco wrapped an arm around Tom, "You're not a mistake Tom, you're funny, and smart, and you're...pretty good at ping pong...".

Tom grinned a toothy grin, "Hey...thanks. Uh...sorry for telling you my life story and junk...I know you probably didn't want to hear about stuff like that while you were here.". Marco reassured him, "Nah, I...think it's kinda cool...hearing about your past and stuff...I just wish you had happier tales to tell me...".

Tom huffed, "Maybe one day...you uh...wanna get back to our game?".

Marco smiled, "Back to you kicking my butt? Sure, looks like you need some cheering up...".

Tom smiled.

"Thanks dude...I'm still NOT cheating by the way..."

"Pftt, we'll see Lucitor..."

The boys returned to their game in laughter, not even noticing at the top of the stairs, Tom's father was listening in with a proud smile on is face before continuing his way down the hallway.

Maybe he could convince himself to play against Tom more in the future.


	6. Dinner With Friends

"Dad, you seriously don't have to dress yourself up, it's just Star and Marco..." Tom said, watching his father fix his hair, "I know you and mom want to I dunno "Impress" them but you already know Star and Marco's just a regular dude, no need to go overboard...".

"Awww c'mon Thomas, Your friends are coming over for dinner, we want to look presentable right?", Tom grumbled, "I dunno...i'm sure Star and Marco would be just as fine if you just wore your jeans and mom wore her favorite sweater...I'm in my causal junk...".

"Well, you can wear what you want to wear, i'm wearing what I want to wear when meeting your friends...", Tom groaned, "Daddd, you've already met both of them, Me and Star practically grew up together and you've seen Marco when he visits...".

"And-?"

"This is pointless!".

"Well to me it's not, now if you're done nagging me you should check to see if your friends have left yet...", He finished fixing himself and wandered out of the bathroom, "I'm gonna go check on your mother, let me know when they're coming...".

He closed the door to the bathroom behind him and Tom pulled out his compact mirror phone, dialing Star, he was regretting the choice to invite them to dinner every minute. One day he's chilling at the table, discussing plans to hang out with his friends, the next his parents are asking if they be interesting in eating with their family, and the next after that Tom is forced to call Star on the matter to get an excited squeal on her end.

On one hand, Star wasn't crazy about underworld culture, on another hand she probably thought it would be fun to see more of the underworld and properly talk to his parents in a more casual manner. Tom could already picture the face Marco was probably making at the idea of eating "Underworld Food" and he kept in mind that maybe he should let his parents know that his friends might not be a big fan of their normal delicacies.

Then again his Dad somehow got used to it, so who knows.

"TOM!", Star's face came up from the other line, "Hey, we're on our way there really sooon, Marco's just picking out some games to play and stuff like that!". Tom could hear another voice from the other end, "Well, I just want to find something to play where i'll actually win against one of you!"

Star laughed, "Anywayssss, you ready?"

"I guess so, my parents are taking this waaay too seriously. They're getting in fancy outfits _**just**_ for our dinner!", Star was blinking in confusion on her screen, like Tom said something stupid , "But don't they always wear fancy junk? My parents sure do..".

Tom pouted, "I dunno, not always...I just...", Star was smirking now at his embarrassed face. " Tom, are you just worried your parents are gonna embarrass you in front of ussss?", Tom blushed hard, "What? No. I-I just...Look, when are you gonna be here?".

Star giggled, "Tom, don't worry about them...they're cool, they aren't gonna embarrass you..". Tom grumbled, "You guys are like my only friends, I'm just worried they'll say something weird and things will get awkward and I dunno...I guess I've just never had friends over for dinner before."

"Tom, It'll be fun! We're all gonna hang out together after dinner anyway, just think about that ok?", Her smile seemed to reassure Tom he was worrying over nothing, Tom sighed and nodded. "Ok fine, I'll see you guys soon ok? ", Star nodded, "Byeee Tom!".

She hung up and Tom sighed, he was worrying over nothing, he just needed to keep his cool tonight and things would be fine. His parents were just excited for him to have friends over, it's nothing to blow up over, he could make it through dinner right?

As long as they weren't being embarrassing or didn't say anything weird dinner should be a breeze... ** _right?  
_**  
Tom looked at himself in the mirror and started fixing his hair, trying to keep it up, it took forever to gel his hair up enough for this to even work. Then he quickly fixed his eye-liner before heading out of the bathroom and made his way down to the dining chamber.

This was gonna be quiet a stressful dinner, that was for sure.

* * *

Tom fidgeted in his seat, waiting for both his parents and his friends to arrive. Ugh, he was sure Star would call them when she and Marco arrived but why weren't his own parents here by now? It couldn't have taken his Dad that long to find his mom right?

It was so quiet and boring in this room, lighted by only the torches on the walls and the skull chandelier on the ceiling. The Underworld was well-known for being kind of spooky, but for once it was actually kind've creeping Tom out.

RING

Tom jumped and fell over and he struggled to answer his compact, breathing heavily. Star could be seen on the other end, with Marco who was looking around anxiously as if he thoughts something would bite him if he wasn't careful.

"We're hereeeee~", Star said before the door to the dining room blasted open and the blonde princess leaped through it. Marco was still looking around in wonder, he hadn't seen much of the castle outside of Tom's bedroom and it clearly interested him how everything looked, or maybe he was just taking note of all the safety violations everywhere.

Tom stood up just to be tackled by the princess in a tight hug, "Dinner is gonna be soooo funn! Marco finally picked out some games we could play after~". Marco held up some bags he was carrying, "I've uh...never eaten underworld food before...it's uh...it's all gonna be dead, right?"

Tom shrugged, "Maybe..then again, my parents knew we were having guests so it could go either way...". Marco shuddered and Star stopped hugging Tom to go pick out a seat at he dining table, Marco took the seat next to Tom, probably so he could ask him a dozen questions about all the food he was prepared to see.

"I thought my parents would be here by now..", Tom grumbled, "Considering how much they wanted to get ready to see you...". Maybe they actually took Tom's advice and changed out of their fancy clothes? Tom was probably hoping too much for that.

"Well, they are the king and queen. Maybe something came up?", Marco asked, "I'm sure they didn't forget or anything..". Tom was thinking whether to go look for them for a moment, when the entrance to the dining room opened and the recognizable form of Tom's mother walked through it, Carrying Tom's father in her hand.

It took Tom a few seconds to notice they were both matching in outfits of black, gold, and red. He forced in a groan and watched his father step off his wife's hand and to the ground so he could take a seat in what was obviously the smallest of the two fanciest seats at the table.

His wife took the seat next to him and Tom felt himself grow more embarrassed at seeing Dave smile widely at the sight of his friends. Star, jumped into the seat nearest to them and waved to Wrathmelior, who waved back at the small girl.

"Marco! Princess Star! Welcome to the dining hall!", Dave reached over to shake Marco's hand, who flinched at the man's strong grip. Marco presented a polite smile and after shaking his hand became thankful he didn't have to do the same for Tom's mother.

Star eagerly shook Dave's hand, she didn't see Tom's family much outside of royal events, so this was a pleasant experience for her in general. Marco didn't see much of Tom's folks at ALL, so a lot of this was especially foreign to him, he felt so small and clueless here.

Tom felt himself want to sink into his seat as his father smiled happily, "I'm so glad you both decided to join us for dinner tonight! We've never had dinner guests before, well, outside of dinners with other leaders, but this truly is the first time we've had something like this...".

He wasn't wrong, usually dinners were of two results, just the three of them, or dinners that were mostly political. There was never dinner with friends, or other relatives, or basically any dinners that filled all these chairs simply to converse and enjoy the company other others.

Frankly it was depressing, and only reminded Tom of just how lonely and friendless he used to be not very long ago.

Marco awkwardly raised his hand as if he were in class, "Uh...King Lucitor? What are we eating exactly?". Dave smiled, "Don't worry yourself Marco, when I first starting staying here, I was anxious about the food too. But you'd be surprised to know it's really not that bad."

That didn't seem to reassure Marco, who gulped.

"The food will be here any second, but for now, I though we all could chat, I'm eager to get to know Tom's friends a little bit more. So Marco? Tom's told us so much about you! Is it true you're from earth?". Tom felt his ears grow red and he noticed Marco's expression looked similar to his own.

"Uh...er...yes?", Marco answered in a question, Dave continued to ask questions though, "What's earth like? I haven't been there myself yet.". Marco shrugged,"It's almost like mewni, except...with less magic...and more technology?".

Marco clearly was taken off guard for being singled out, and it wasn't helping the anxiety he already had between the food, being in front of the leaders of the underworld, and all the other aspects of the underworld which made him feel less then safe.

Dave nodded but Marco was sure the mewman had no idea what he was talking about. "I mean, you guys seems to have similar tech and stuff here, so I guess it's not too different, although we have cell phones and the internet and...other stuff.", Marco wasn't hiding his nervousness well as he fumbled to provide the leaders with a good answer.

Tom couldn't help but cringe, this felt so awkward and uncomfortable and the room was silent half the time that he was almost praying something weird would happen. His father wasn't giving up though, and he continued to try and ask more about earth, much to Marco's discomfort.

Meanwhile, Star was bouncing in her seat, she looked eager to ask some questions herself to the king and queen rather then them ask them questions. And pretty soon her patience was clearly running out and she struggled to stay still until she clearly couldn't anymore. Sure enough, As soon as Dave tried to ask Marco another question regarding himself and earth, Star's impatience ran out and the princess stood up in a flash, getting everyone's attention.

"So do you guys have any cute baby stories about Tom!?", Star practically blurted out to everyone's surprise. Star rubbed the back of her head and played with her hair, "Uh sorry for interrupting a little, I just...do you? I wanna hear some!"

Tom shot up immediately in embarrassment and in defense, "STAR!? WHAT THE HECK!?".

Star pouted at the demon boy, looking as if she didn't understand what was so wrong "What? I just asked a question.". Tom's brows furrowed, "Why the heck so you want to know about _**that**_?! my baby stories are...aren't your bushiness!".

"Awww, c'monnnnn, you NEVER tell tell me about you as a baby, we met when we were 8! You were so cute!", Tom crossed his arms, "Was the reason you were so excited for this really because you wanted to ask about me as a baby!?".

"Noooooo", Star said in a way that made Tom think she was probably lying, "I'm just here with your family and i have SOOOOOO many questions! Mom never tells me much about you guys! I want to know more about what Tom was like as a kid! Or what you guys do for fun down here! Or even how Tom was born? Did he come from an egg or-".

"STAR!", The demon blushed harder.

"Thomas, _**Sit down**_ , we have guests.", Dave said sternly, and Tom slowly sat down, crossing his arms. "Princess Star? I'm delighted you want to hear more about us and Tom but -", Star made a face, "Awww, please? My parents say you guys love to annoy them with stories!".

Both Royals looked a little annoyed at the prospect the Butterflies considered them "Annoying", but chose to ignore it as they directed their attention to their embarrassed son who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here right now.

The king bit his lip, "Well, if tom is uncomfortable we probably shouldn't share any stories, i mean...then again if you do really want to hear more about us, maybe Tom wants to tell you about the time he almost got kidnapped! we could tell that one! He loves that one!".

Tom's blush seemed to fade a little at the thought of his father picking a story Tom would like telling his friends for once instead of something embarrassing, his father was kinda thinking of him. Marco's eyebrows rised fast, "Wait, you almost got kidnapped? When did that happen?".

Tom shrugged, "When I was 5, I faintly remember it, although it freaked me the heck out...". Marco still looked anxious so Tom continued to explain, "Marco, i'm half-demon and a prince, i'm a pretty good target for anyone to try and kidnap.".

Dave let out a weak chuckle, "We were so worried, but we're so thankful for Tom and his powers...". The prince bit his lip, "When i was little some kidnappers managed to separate me from my parents and they tried to take me away, but unfortunately, they kinda underestimated what I could do. I had a tantrum and screamed really loud and fire came up and it made such a ruckess that it took no time at all for me to be found, the uh...kidnappers got some pretty nasty burns. W-we kinda laugh more about it today, cause it was kinda stupid for those guys to think they could kidnapp someone like me and they failed so hard it's just funny..."

A smile started to form on Tom's face, "No one has tried kidnapping me since, i think they've learned their lesson not to mess with a Lucitor.". The king and queen smiled proudly, " 5 years old and he can already fight off dangerous kidnappers, that's our boy..".

Star smiled, "That's so cool! I kinda wish mewmans got powers that early! We never get to do that junk till we're teenagers!". Tom seemed to feel a little more comfortable at the table now, "Well i wish i could spout wings and 6 arms, that could really come in handy!".

"I'm sure a demon/mewberty thing would honestly be scarier then Star's mewberty experience...", Marco chimed in, "Trust me Tom, be grateful you don't have to go through that, I know i am.". Tom's parents laughed and shot them a challenging smile, "Well, Wrathy here happens to have wings at least. So who knows, Tom might get some just yet!". Tom blushed and was about to make a remark that he didn't need wings to fly when just then, the servants came in with dozens of plates of food to set out between all the people at the table, who poured drinks for everyone and left as quickly as they came.

"Dig in everyone!", The king said, already adding some strange meat to his plate.

Marco was the only one who wasn't reaching out and Tom noticed it quickly, he bit his lip and grabbed one of the plates. " Here, you might like this one, it's Gryffin meat. It's not exactly like chicken, but it does taste like turkey and maybe a little bit like ham?".

Marco stared at the plate and reluctantly grabbed a fork to put a little on his plate, "If you don't like it, we can get some cereal or something...it's totally ok.". Marco sighed, "No, I outta try some of your food, it'd be rude not to attempt to try and see if I like some of this...".

Tom watched him cut it and put a little into his mouth and chew slowly. "What do you think?", Marco continued to chew with a weird face, before nodding a little and swallowing. "That's...not bad, what else is one those plates?", Marco found himself eating strange underworld fruit, vulture meat, and something Tom claimed was dead for a few years before it'd been cooked. He found some of it good, but Tom called a spit bucket when it seemed necessary.

At least he ate some of it, even if a few of the dishes ended up more in the bucket then Marco's mouth.

Star, on the other hand, kept asking questions with her mouth full of food much to Tom's embarrassment. He was certain it was his parents who would make this night awkward, not his own friends! Maybe if he just kept his head down..

"Whaup yohr favouhm sorey wheth tohm?", She swallowed and asked again at the sight of the confused royal's faces, "What's your favorite story with Tom?". Tom rolled his eyes and kept eating, ugh, this was the last time he invited Star to anything.

"Oh, my favorite? I mean, it's probably the one when...Tom was 3 and...oh ...maybe we shouldn't tell that one.", Star made a face, "Awww please!". Dave sighed, "It's...i was watching Tom one day and I wanted to try out this ancient demon thing where they sorta tested to see what kind of king or queen the next heir would be and what they value the most. You'd set three items in front of the baby, a gold coin, a scroll, and a toy. They were supposed to pick one, a coin meant they'd care most about the kingdom's wealth, the scroll meant they'd care mostly about it's law and order, and the toy meant they'd care more about fun and their citizens. It hasn't been done for generations but i did it for fun and well...".

Marco even seemed interested now, ignoring the food for once, "What did Tom pick...?".

Dave smiled, he looked like he was going to cry, "I set them in front of Tom, and sat in front of him. He started crawling towards the items and i was curious to see what he picked...but then he pushed all the items away and instead crawled into my arms.".

Tom felt himself heat up again, as everyone seemed to be looking at him. Dave was even blushing now, "I started crying and I held him close and i wouldn't let him go. That memory is just one of my favorites, I've held it close for a long time.", Wrathmelior reached over to carefully pet his head, it ruined his hair but that seemed to matter less to him right now.

Star was smiling hard, "AWWWWWW that's SO CUUUTTEEEE!".

Tom was playing with his food now, clearly distracted, "I guess it is kinda cute...I mean, if you find that sort of stuff cute...". He just wanted to vanish now, the kidnap story was ok to tell since it made him feel cool, but stories like this were the ones that made him want to sink in his boots.

The human next to him watched the blushing mewman and the affection large demon and thought for a moment to himself, before drawing his attention to his embarrassed hybrid friend. Marco had a few anxieties about tonight as well, and overall the night had gone better then he expected, WAY better, which only meant he needed to ask Tom something.

Marco tapped Tom shoulder and whispered to him, getting his attention, "You know, you always told me your parents were kinda scary...and threatening...but they kinda remind me of _**my**_ parents.".

Tom gave him a confused look and Marco rubbed his neck, "I guess it's...you always made them out differently, like they were fearless and wouldn't hesitate to hurt someone...but they seem so...normal? I guess? For people who run the underworld.."

Tom bit his lip to answer his friend's question, "Well, they run a very dangerous kingdom and they _**have**_ to be forceful sometimes...but they are still my parents, and they are still people. My Dad...well...he wasn't taken very seriously as the king, I guess no one thought he was suitable for the position...so...he got angry, he got scary. I-I don't think he's proud of it, but...sometimes it's something he has to do...so...they're kinda both? They can be terrifying and overprotective when they want to, but they're not evil. They're just my weird parents, doing what it takes to take on the underworld, even if it's messy and scary. They uh...they're quite the parents I guess..".

Marco looked up at the currently smiling man who was happily talking to Star, having a harder time imagining him being the scary person Tom had talked about before," Tom? I know you're not entirely cool with Star prodding into you and your family. But is it cool If i ask **_you_** a question?". Tom nodded, ears perking up, "Why didn't you get anger therapy before? Or...why didn't your parents try to help you?".

He interjected, red-faced, and with his hands held up, "I hope that didn't come off rude o-or anything! It's just...considering all your issues and well the Mr Candle Incident, I just...I don't get how you didn't get help sooner...".

Tom sighed, "It's complicated Marco...it's...i mean my issues have been around forever, but...I think my parents never really wanted me to feel like...i was **_wrong_** i guess. After so many times I felt like i was a mistake and dealing with being bullied and scolded at, I just think my Dad wanted me to stop feeling pain...he _**hates**_ scolding me, y'know? I guess I never grew out of bad habits because my dad just...he didn't want to hurt me, or feel like i was messed up, or have me hate him."

Tom's voice grew somber, he looked like he might cry, "Sometimes I see him ponder on whether he's even a good dad? Or even if he and my mom are even good parents? I'm just...i'm such a mess I think sometimes they blame themselves..."

Marco reached out and held Tom's shoulder, " Hey, are you ok? I-I didn't mean to-".

Tom wiped his face with his napkin, "No Marco, it's ok.". He took a look at both of his parents, and managed a smile at how happy they looked, "Y'know, they aren't perfect, but they are my parents. They love me, they just want to see me happy. They're happy to see me with friends, and they still want to be apart of my life even though i'm finally starting to have relationships outside of them. I guess considering everything, I could've turned out much worse...".

"Tom?", The demon sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm being stupid again...I just...there are times i'm so upset with them, but sometimes I just...forget how much they're trying. They embarrass me and they're weird and I've been angry with them before...but they do love me and put my happiness first...even if it's not the best thing for me...". He rubbed his arm and stared at his food, "It can be hard...talking about my family, there are things about us that aren't...fun to talk about, sometimes those are stupid things i'd be embarrassed about because i'm a stupid teenager, but...other times...there is some heavy stuff about us and we worry about hurting each other..."

Marco rubbed his friend's shoulder carefully, "I'm sorry Star sorta arrived and starting digging into your private business like that, that was uncalled for. But y'know, it's good to focus on the positive moments too, and talk about them, even if they _**are**_ a little embarrassing, happy memories are things you should hold close y'know?." He took a bite of his dessert, "Y'know, i was nervous about tonight as well, nervous about the food, and your family, but honestly...I'm having a good time, i think I just like spending time with you and hear all these cools stories."

Tom seemed to think about it a moment, "Yeah, I guess it is kinda nice to bring up some happy memories for once.". He smiled at Marco, "And, it's kinda nice to talk about this junk with someone...i've really never gotten to do much of that before..".

Marco smiled back, "Well, I guess if we come back for more of your weird dinners maybe Dr Marco PHD can help you out some more?". Tom nodded, "Yeah, that could be nice..".

Star continued smiling and squealed ad dessert was brought out. Some servants cleaned up the dirty plates, and Marco was satisfied to note that the dessert was clearly something chocolate and edible. Tom stared at his dessert, pondering for a moment before speaking up.

"Y'know, since we've been sharing stories about me all night, is it cool If i tell one?", Both his parents nodded, and Tom laughed to himself. "You know, when I was little, my Dad and Mom liked to tell me some of their silly dating stories as i fell asleep..", Tom crossed his arms on the table, "I mean when you're little you don't think much of those stories, but considering all the monster prejudice on mewni, it's kinda sweet hearing a love story about your parents who overcame all that...".

"I-I used to have fits and have a hard time sleeping, but then my parents used to sing me to sleep and tell me goofy stories...it kinda...helped with my nightmares and made me smile.", He rubbed his face,"I guess sometimes i feel like I've outgrown them, but it's hard to say I don't like hearing them, and hearing what a weird kid I was.."

All eyes were on him and he kept going, "I always liked that one story mom likes to talk about, when she first introduced dad to her parents.". He laughed awkwardly, "She was so freaked out cause he wasn't a demon and she was worried they'd get angry, but when she tried to introduce him my grandparents thought he was her pet!".

Tom blushed in embarrassment, this was so embarrassing and normally he'd never say this stuff , but it just seemed to make him smile, and by the looks of it his parents felt a similar way.

Wrathmelior beamed and Dave blushed, " You should have seen me! I was meeting the king and queen of the underworld and i was shaking in my boots over it, only for them to assume i was some kind of pet! Then when we told them we were dating it took them forever to process that idea!".

The queen reached over and carefully rubbed his back, growling some comforting words to him, "Yeah somehow i think they were faking it too. Like they're not like _**my**_ parents, but they seemed entirely dead and ignorant we were dating. Although admittedly it was kinda funny...".

Tom grinned, "Yeah, and I also like the stories you guys told...about after I was born..". He felt himself blush hard, " I mean, you guys...you just liked telling me how you both held me and tried to get me to laugh, and then how you refused to let any of the servants take me away for literally any reason..".

Star made a face, "Awww Tom, you're such a softie."

Tom started eating some of his dessert, "I just wanted to take part...er...shut up Star..".

Marco jumped in, "Hey, I like those stories too, I mean they're kinda embarrassing but it's also kinda sweet. I think I just like seeing my parents so happy, cause the day I was born was an important day to them and it still is...".

Tom sent him a smile of thanks, and Marco continued, "You're our friend Tom, you're important to us too. We're not gonna laugh at you for this stuff, we all have problems and embarrassing stories, but we all still care about each other and that's what matters.."

Tom lightly punched his shoulder, "Thanks Marco...".

* * *

After dinner, Star raced down to Tom's room, and Marco ran after her, telling her running down steps was a really bad idea and she could get hurt. Tom was about to follow when he felt an arm turn him around to see his parents standing there looking at him.

Tom eyed the ground, "We'll be fine, I'll keep an eye on them like i usually do I promise...".. Dave held out his hand, "No it's...I'm sorry if we might have embarrassed you back there...maybe. You're friends were intrigued and you seemed uncomfortable and maybe we shouldn't have-"

"No, Dad, it's cool. It's...I dunno maybe I'm just always worried about losing my friends...or them thinking less of me. But...you guys just wanted to have fun, and meet my friends like this and...I kinda can't fault you both for that, it's not like Star and Marco cares much anyway, all parents can be a little strange. And I was **_serious_**...I...may or may not have missed hearing some of these stories...", Tom grumbled that last part.

He felt his mother's hand gently pet his head, and then felt his father hug him. "Thomas, you can always ask, we like telling our stories...", Tom took a moment and hugged him back, "Yeah I know...I guess when you're a lonely teenager worried about every little thing you just...shut out stuff.".

He let go and rubbed the back of his head, "So uh...thanks for dinner, it was...actually kinda fun. I should probably catch up with my friends, before they hurt themselves or break anything...". He waved to his parents before turning around to head downstairs, but then he paused for a moment and looked behind them.

"Uhh...if you guys wanna come down and watch...i don't think Star and Marco would mind...", Dave shook his head, "Nah, we got more important things to take care of and i'm sure you deserve some time with your friends tonight without your parents hovering over you, head down and have some fun and maybe we'll drop by to check on you later ok?".

Tom smiled, " Love ya...and uh...thanks for being my uh..parents..", and he descended down to his room in record speed.

Wrathmelior smiled and took note of her husband, who looked about ready to cry happily, she made some growls at him and he wiped his eyes.

"Yeah, he's growing up so fast...but he's still our son and i'm proud of him...i think we could've done worse for a couple of weirdos." , she gave him a big kiss and he grinned, "C'mon, we should go make plans for our next dinner with his friends, I bet that Marco kid would love to try some of our blood worm pasta!".


	7. Bedtime Stories

Tom snuggled in his covers, tossing and turning inside his dark bedroom. The child held his stuffed rabbit close to his chest and rolled around some more, which proved to be a mistake at the tiny horns poking out hurt a little and forced him back onto his back and to stare at the ceiling.

Tom begged his parents to give him his own bedroom, his own bed. he could handle it, he told them, but here he was a few days in and he couldn't sleep. He already missed his crib and sleeping next to his parents, the last few nights he had nightmares. Imagine, a demon, having nightmares!

The Lava fountain served as a nice nightlight, but it wasn't enough to make him feel better. He shouldn't be scared, he was the boogeyman, everything was supposed to be scared of _him_ , not vice versa. But tales of Evil Stumps, and monsters that came in the night to eat little demon children always made him nervous, and so did all the people out there that his father told him were bad and wanted to hurt him.

Tom was sure his father had something in the room to make sure nothing could attack Tom, but that didn't seem to make Tom feel safe regardless.

His father said it was ok if he wasn't ready for his own room yet, but Tom insisted. He wanted his own place to keep his toys, he wanted a place for himself, he wanted a soft bed like his parents had, he wanted a place so he didn't feel like a baby anymore.

He pulled the covers over him mouth and winced, was it took late to back out? He hadn't slept well the last few nights and he took naps in the daytime as a result, could he just live the rest of his life surviving on naps? Tom held his bunny tighter and decided he had to make a choice.

Either hold tight and make it through the night, or chicken out.

Tom chickened out.

Using his fire to leap himself off the bed so nothing under it could grab him, he practically darted up the steps and out of his room to enter his parent's nearby. They were both fast asleep as the tiny boy opened the large door and closed it behind him. Tom felt tears coming on and his ears sagged, but he still quietly used his fire powers to lift himself weakly onto the top of the bed and crawled over to his father.

"Dad..Dad?",Tom shook his sleeping father until the man grumpily woke up and yawned, "What...Tom? Why are you still up? You're supposed to be in bed.". Tom cuddled his stuffed animal, he almost looked as if he were about to cry ,"I can't sleep in there, It scares me...can I stay with you and Mommy?".

Dave sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Ok, just for tonight Thomas...". He opened his arms and let Tom crawl inside them and cling to him before lying himself back down, "We'll talk more about this tomorrow, ok?". Tom nodded, smiling, and snuggled himself to sleep.

* * *

It was only supposed to be for one night, but it became a routine, Tom always wandering into his parent's room to sleep next to them. Tom stopped even waking his father up since he already knew his father would be fine with it and he was expecting to see Tom next to him in the mornings anyway.

It had been lasting for almost a month, Tom's new room, untouched.

Dave didn't mind, Tom would grow into his room when he was ready, but part of him felt like he should help Tom feel safe sleeping in his own room. As much as he, and even Wrathmelior, liked having Tom next to them, they needed to help fix the problem instead of continuing to let it happen.

Tom had his tantrums, and his powers could destroy anything in their wake if Tom got out of control, the boy was enough of a handle for his parents. Tom's been dreaming of his own room for ages and now he was too scared to even enter anymore, they couldn't just ignore that.

Dave bit his lip, watching his son eat his food at the dinner table, it was almost bittersweet to him. He loved holding his son in his arms, it made him feel safe and reassured his own anxieties about Tom being out of his sight, but Tom couldn't be his little boy forever...he needed to grow without them sometime.

"Tom? Is it ok if we ask you why your room is scaring you?", he said quickly, making the small boy look up from his creamed corn with a surprised expression. His ears dropped and he grumbled to himself, "It's just...dark, and creepy...and I have nightmares...".

"But Tom, you live in the underworld, dark and creepy stuff never used to freak you out before. Are you worried something is going to hurt you?", Tom didn't say much, playing with his fingers, "Thomas, we promise we won't ever let anyone hurt you as long as we live...".

"But what if a monster pops in?!", Tom argued, "What if they pop in a-and you can't hear them and stuff!". Even the queen looked worried as Dave tried to reassure Tom, "Tom, it's ok to be scared, this is a whole new experience for you. You can sleep next to us as long as you need, but you can't stay there forever and if there's anything we can do to make sleeping in your own room easier...".

Tom shrugged, "I don't want to go back in there...I-I can't sleep, I have nightmares...nightmares where you guys get hurt and I get hurt..a-an...". Dave reached over the table and held Tom's shoulder, "How long have you been having them?". The small boy shrugged, "I haven't slept good once since I got a room...".

His parents exchanged looks and Dave thought for a moment, "Tom do you really want to have your own room?". Tom seemed to ponder over his question for a while, "I dunno...", Dave got out of his chair to get down to Tom's height right next to him, "What If me and your mom could make your room less scary and help you stop having nightmares? Would you like that?".

Tom didn't say anything for a little while before nodding and his father smiled, "We love having you sleep next us Tom, but we're concerned at seeing you be so scared of being hurt in your new bedroom, especially when it's something we know you really wanted. You should be able to have your own room and feel safe...".

Tom mumbled, "But you always tell me how people and monsters are dangerous, that people will hurt me, what about the Stump?"

Dave ruffled the boy's hair, "Ok, tonight we'll figure out a way to help you sleep, and then we'll find out something that will keep the bad people out. Is that ok?". Tom played with his fingers and nodded, Dave kissed his son's forehead, "We want to help Tom, you should be allowed to feel safe at your home and in your own room."

Tom mumbled, "If you can't...can I still stay with you?". Dave though for a moment, and stood up, "Yeah, of course you can Tom...We're gonna do anything we can, but if all fails you are perfectly allowed to stay with us until you're ready..".

Tom smiled, "Ok...".

* * *

I took alot to convince Tom to at least sit on his bed again, but Dave managed, letting Tom hold his hand tightly so he felt more comfortable. Wrathmelior had just barely managed to squeeze herself in after she teleported and she was sure the likelihood of coming back in was reduced.

Dave and her weren't exactly the best parents, so where to start was still across their mind. Wrathmelior never had been afraid of her room as a kid but Dave could faintly remember times he'd feared monster attacks in the past, although granted his parents didn't do much to help the paranoia.

Tom seemed to feel a little more eased with their presence, the king himself scanned around to see if there was anything that might be making Tom nervous. The open closet or under the bed felt like solid options, "Tom, where are you worried the monsters will come from?".

"Everywhere..", Tom replied, clinging onto the man for dear life. The older man bit his lip, he needed to figure this out, he could easily put a locked door on the closet yes, but that would only reduce _**one**_ place Tom was nervous about. Under the bed would be trickier, but then again, the existence of scissors wasn't something he could prevent unless he enchanted the room to be inaccessible by magical objects. Man, this was going to take awhile.

Dave helped pick up his small son, "C'mon, i'll tuck you in, and we'll keep guard for any monsters...ok?". He was intending to wait till Tom went to sleep under their watch, then head to bed himself, it was probably a lame plan but it was the only one he had in order to at least get Tom to spend one night here.

He tucked Tom in, and Tom pulled the blankets up to his chin, "I don't know If i can sleep daddy...". "We won't make you sleep Thomas, but first and foremost we want you to feel comfortable enough _to_ sleep, so for now just relax ok?", Mel attempted to reach out to her son herself, patting his head with a finger.

Tom laid there for a few minutes, then spoke up, "Can you read me a story?". Dave looked up, "a story?", Tom nodded from his spot and snuggled further into the covers. "Some kids sleep better when their parents tell them stories...maybe...that might help?", Dave yawned and smiled, "Ok, we'll tell you a story...what kinda story do you want to hear?".

"Well...not a scary story...", The boy said, "Just...something nice...?". The king twiddled his thumbs for a bit to think of what to say, "How about a story about Mommy and Daddy? Is that ok?". Tom nodded, "Ok, just don't make it weird..".

Wrathmelior snorted, and Dave snickered, "Ok, how about the story where we first met?". Tom's eyes glistened and his head popped a little more out of the covers, it seemed to have sparked his interest. His parents both yawned again. at this rate they'd pass out before Tom did.

"Well, When i was about 17, I was kinda forced to attend one of the Balls the Butterfly Kingdom was hosting. I wasn't too about parties, but my mother insisted I go since It would give me an opportunity to meet new people...", Then he rolled his eyes, "Or what she actually meant, which was getting a date...".

Tom giggled, "Well you DID get a date, right?".

Dave bit hard on his teeth, "Well, I really didn't want to do so. The thing is...the party was Queen Moon's official coronation, and considering what happened to Queen Comet...I didn't find it customary to go around flirting with people since it was still fresh in everyone's mind...".

Mel huffed and growled, "Yeah yeah, I know it was a few weeks after but it was still uncomfortable. Anyways, so the other royals families attended, and personally I really wasn't having much fun so I kinda wandered off and went outside to get some air, only to find your mom out there as well, in the gardens..".

"What happened?", Tom asked in his small voice, Dave lifted his legs up onto the bed and got into a more comfortable position before continuing. "Well, I was kind've startled at first, but after calming I realized she was the Lucitor Princess and she looked kinda down so...I sorta asked her if something was wrong...".

Then he sheepishy rubbed the back of his head, "Unfortunately, I didn't know demonspeak at the time, So when she saw me and growled at me...I wasn't sure whether she was answering my question or warning me that she'd eat my flesh. I backed off and...I bumped into Princes- er... _ **Queen**_ Moon, who was still rather distraught but she kept her posture and I asked about Mel being in the gardens...Apparently Mel wasn't much of a people person and just wanted to enjoy being outside and get a good view of the stars...".

He blushed heavily, "I-I uh...well since I wasn't enjoying the party much myself, I went out to watch the stars myself. Your mom spotted me and growled to me, and although I couldn't tell what she was saying, she knew what I was saying. Told her I didn't understand, but that didn't matter, We uh...well I started talking and she was interested in what I had to say...which wasn't something I was used to back home. I guess...I guess I just kinda liked that...The party ended, I told her that maybe sometime we could meet up again? She nodded and we met again the next night somewhere I picked out...".

He smiled at the large demoness in the room who was feeling a little less annoyed being trapped in an enclosed space.

"Yeah, and uh...I brought a demonspeak translator book that time, and started teaching myself...which took forever, but It was worth it!", Tom smiled wide, " That's so coooll! I hope I get to meet my future queen at a ball like that!. Dave snicked and petted his hair, "That's adorable Thomas, but we'll see, you never know what the future holds in store. ".

"Well, I wanna be a cool king! I don't wanna be scared of anything, and i'll fight off all the bad guys.", Dave brushed hair out of his son's third eye, "Aww, but Thomas, first we need to rid you of your fear of this room before you can ever not be sacred on anything!". Tom yawned, "Well, i'm less scared with you and mommy here, you guys are funny, and I liked your story daddy...". Dave smiled sweetly, "Thanks tom, so are you saying Daddy and Mommy's stories make you less scared?".

Tom nodded silently.

"Can I hear another story?", Tom asked, snuggling up into his covers, "PleASE!?". The Queen yawned, but Dave continued, "Alright, But just one more ok?". Tom laid back and giggled, Dave finished one story, only to end up telling another, and then another, and Dave kept telling him story after story until Tom's eyes drifted closed and his breathing slowed. It was almost midnight by the time Tom fell asleep, smile upon his face and pillow protecting him from sleeping on his small horns.

Dave carefully woke his wife who feel asleep during Dave's stories, and they both made sure to give their prince kisses before exciting his room to their own.

The queen growled, and then plopped in the bed, finally happy to be out of that tight room and into her large bed. Dave yawned, "Yeah, I know, But it worked! We actually got Tom to fall asleep without feeling scared of his room. I guess hearing pleasant stories before bedtime really do help."

Dave made his way on the top and plopped onto the bed, closing his eyes for some shut eye himself. Finally, after weeks of worrying about tom and his fears, they could sleep in peace, he made himself comfortable and tried to rest up. Only to find himself tossing and turning throughout the night, he tried different positions, removing the blankets, putting back on the blankets, but no matter what he did he couldn't seem to make himself feel comfortable or feel sleepy. That was weird, he had no problems sleeping before now, what was different?

Then he looked between his arms to see the absence of his little boy between them. Tom's been sleeping in his arms for a whole month, snuggling close to his father for safety, and now he was back in his room, sleeping without it.

He sighed, Now _**he**_ was the one having trouble sleeping. He thought for a moment and stood up, making his way off the bed, out of the room, and over to his son's room nearby. Tom was still fast asleep, still having pleasant dreams. Tomorrow Dave was sure he'd be making some changes for the room to make Tom feel safe, perhaps implant a goat skull messenger to scare off intruders? But for now this was a good start to helping Tom through his anxieties.

The king smiled and once again sat on the bed, admiring his son before yawning. They spent the whole night helping Tom with his fears, only to feed a little more into Dave's. His biggest fear was losing his son after all, he wasn't too fond of Tom being out of his sight in fear of him being hurt.

Maybe he could stay here, just for tonight, just to keep an eye on him...to make sure nothing happened to him.

He grabbed a chair and sat it next to Tom's bed before taking a seat in it and closing his eyes.

Tom was continuing to grow up but-

He'd always still be his little boy.


	8. Babysat

"You're to make sure he doesn't eat anything he's not supposed to.."

"Yes sir."

"Give him a bath after dinner."

"Yes Sir."

"and put him to bed and stay by his side until we get back home, understood?"

Rose nodded, "Yes sir, i'll make sure the prince is safe, he's in Good hands King Lucitor.". Dave scanned the demon up and down, as if looking for any signs of mistrust. "My son means the world to me, and as much as i dislike leaving him in another's hands I don't have much of a choice tonight. When I get home he better be cleaned, full, asleep, and in one piece, do not disappoint me Rose." She gave an awkward smile, "I'll try not to, he's only 2, i'm sure he'll be no trouble at all...".

The king sighed, "You're one of the few sitters I've met who...who doesn't judge, and if you meet requirements...it would be nice to have a proper sitter full time. Me and Mel will be home after 9, and i'll be calling to check on Tom, you have your compact right?". Rose held hers up, "Sir, I can take care of Thomas, I won't let anything happen to him, ok?".

The giant demoness behind the King poked her husband, they needed to leave soon, he calmed himself down and regained his posture. " 9, I'll keep in contact...", He gave her a look then turned to his small son with a smile, picking him up and giving him a smooch on his forehead, "Mommy and Daddy have to head out Tommy, be good for the baby sitter ok? Love you...", Tom giggled as Dave handed him over to Rose.

He gave his son one last look as his wife and him teleported away, leaving Rose with the little half demon.

She sighed and looked at the baby, "Guess it's just you and me little prince.

-  
The first thing that needed to be done was to serve Tom food, that was easy enough. There was food already prepared for the little guy waiting in the kitchen, it was only a matter of making sure he got some. Rose put him in his high chair and set his dinner out in front of him, mashed corn, beans, and some milk. Tom stared down at his food and pouted before picking up some corn with his hands and slamming it down on the tray," No!", Rose frowned. "C'mon Tom, it's dinner time...".

"No!" he protested, a little bit of fire erupting around him.

Looks like she was gonna have to spoonfeed the toddler herself., she picked up the spoon left on his tray and picked up some beans, "C'mon Tommy, open up!". She pushed the spoon to his mouth and Tom turned away, "No!".

"Tom, you need to eat, your father needs you to eat...don't you want your beans?", Tom pouted, "I want mac and cheese!". The demon lady grumbled, "But Tom, you're parents already left this food out for you, don't you want to eat it instead? It's good for you!".

Tom grumbled, and Rose was starting to become frustrated as her compact ringed and she answered it. "Oh king lucitor? Good to hear from you, I-I er...well i'm trying to feed Thomas dinner but he's refusing to eat what you left him, he wants to eat something else you see?".

"Mac and Cheese I'm guessing?", Dave said from the other line, "Tell him he'll get some only if he eats some of his corn and beans, i still want him to eat those but no point in trying to start a tantrum either.". Rose nodded, "Ok sir, having a nice time?".

"Frankly, being at these formal balls can be a bore, i'd much rather be home .But focus on Tom right now, i'll call you in another hour...". He hung up on his end and the demoness turned her attention back to Tom, or she would if he was there.

She almost jumped, Tom had vanished from his chair , "Thomas? Tom!?". She looked around her in desperation, "TOM!?", she needed to find him fast. She ran out of the dining room in a rush, she had to check every square inch of this place until she found him or she'd be dea-

She paused, hearing a giggling coming from the kitchens, running in, she found a small demon already messing with a bag of noodles. She signed in relief as she saw him, "How did you?-", Tom looked up at her before he vanished in a ball of flame to another part of the kitchen.

The boy could teleport.

That was something she wished King Lucitor had told her beforehand.

Rose reached out her hand towards him, "Tom? If you want your mac and cheese, your father says you should at least take some bites of your beans and corn first..". He blinked at her and pouted, "No!", he protested, struggling to open the bag with his tiny claws.

She crossed her arms,"Thomas...please? If you eat your corn and beans i'll make sure to open the bag for you...". Tom stared down at the unopened bag and seemed to consider it a little, and rose smiled, "What'll it be Tom?".

Rose smiled to herself as Tom ate some of his corn and beans, she boiled the noodles and kept a watch on him from one of her eyes, he was a pretty smart young lad frankly . Smarter then at least most demon children she'd taken care of before.

Tom finished up his food, only after receiving his plate of cheesy goodness and it was time for his bath. Lucky for Rose Tom seemed to like taking baths a little more then eating his greens, solely because he was allowed to play in the bubbles and with his little toys. What he didn't seems to like though as he played in the royal bath, was being scrubbed and cleaned by hand. He swatted at Rose with his small toys and stuck his tongue out at her, and Rose could tell the water was heating up as he got more annoyed with her.

"C'mon Tom, let me wash you!", She tried to reach behind his ears but the boy refused, and swatted her away. Rose found her compact rining shorty after and picked it up as she kept an eye on the boy in the tub who was popping bubbles like no tomorrow. "King Lucitor? Yes...he's taking his bath now...but isn't fond of my washing him...", Tom giggled from inside the tub.

Dave sighed, "Tom normally does that, but he likes it when i bathe him since I play some music for him, try doing that.". She nodded, "How's the party sir? any better?", the king sighed and shook his head. "It's still a bore, honestly i'm looking more forward to calling you to see how Tom is doing then the next dance...". Then he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Mind if i see my son real quick?".

Rose nodded and face her compact towards the small boy in the tub who grinned happily at the sight of his father, Rose couldn't see Dave expression but could only imagine the joy upon his face. "Tom! Hey little buddy! Are you giving your poor babysitter a hard time?", Tom giggled and reached out for the compact, which Rose pulled back from.

"Aww, I love you too, i'll be home soon ok? Let your babysitter finish cleaning you up and don't make a huge mess young man!", Tom grinned exposing all of his teeth as Rose turned the compact towards her, "I'll make sure he'll be in bed soon ok?"

"I'll call you then, goodbye!"

Rose called a servant for a Radio and placed it on the toilet, turning on some tunes and she tried to wash Tom again, this time he complied and she scrubbed under his ears and horns till he was squeaky clean. Man, his father really understood his son to know all these little tricks to get him to obey.

Tom didn't like getting out of the tub but eventually Rose managed to drag him out and change him into some footie pajamas so he could be put to bed. Tom hadn't his own room yet so he would be in his carriage next to his parents rather large bed this time around.

The boy yawned, so at least that was a good sign he could be put to bed easily without any more issues. But as Rose covered him up, the small boy reached out for his teddy and Rose paused as she realized she had no idea where that even was, which led to tears from the small boy.

and tears led to screaming, and screaming led to fire.

Rose fell back and started searching around the room for the toy Tom was looking for, but she didn't even know what it looked like. She huddled into a corner in fear when she received her third and final call and she picked it up and placed it to her ear in utter desperation, "Sir! Tom wants a stuffed animal and-and i don't know where it is!".

That was when a portal opened up inside the room and Dave stepped out, holding his phone in one hand and a look of panic on his face. sHe reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small stuffed rabbit and haded it to the screaming baby, who sniffled and grasped at it, finally calming down from his fit.

Dave sighed as Rose walked out of her hiding spot, "Sorry, i usually keep his rabbit on me just in case he needs it, i must have forgotten to set him out..". Rose relaxed at the sight of Tom cuddling the stuffed toy, and closing his eyes for some sleep.

Dave crossed his arms, "Mel is gona finish the rest of the meeting, i-I probably should be here to...you know...make sure nothing else goes wrong...". Rose smiled, "You just really wanted to be with your son, didn't you?", the king flistered but didn't deny her comment.

"sir...",rose started,"Tonight it was fun working with your son, he's a smart and strong little boy, but...I hope you don't mind if I kindly reject whatever offer you may have to take care of him fulltime.". Dave was about to speak up but she held out her hand, "Tom is wonderful, but...i'm not ready to take care of him and I think, it's clear that if anyone should be taking care of him...it's you.". Dave looked towards his small son and Rose grinned, "Take care king lucitor...", and she teleported away in a flash as she left the king with his young son.

He sighed and covered Tom up further with the blankets, pulling up a chair and taking a seat next to the crib. Tom's giggles could be heard from the crib and Dave swore he heard Tom say "Daddy" in between small breaths and he fell asleep.

Guess she had a point when he really thought about it.


	9. Soft Demon Baby

"Thomas...you're yanking on daddy's nose again..".

The 5-month old giggled and tugged harder before his father remove the little demon's clawed hands from him, Dave cradled his young son in his arms and on his lap a little more. "It's nap time soon, aren't you tired? You were crying over nightmares alot last night.."

The little baby reached his hands out, mouthing small garbles of words to his father, dave held him closer. A hand petting the small demon's head and dave watched the little boy's tail wag in joy, "Hope you're not planning on setting daddy on fire again...".

He nuzzled his young son and planted a kiss on his head, "Alright Thomas, i think it's naptime...all the little half-demons need to get some rest and daddy needs to get some work done today." Dave stood up, and Tom seemed to know what was happening as he started to struggle in his father's arms.

"Thomas...".

The boy started to fuss, and dave pulled out a stubbed rabbit from his jacket and handed it to him, "Here you go...does that make you feel better?". The boy took the stuffed rabbit and held it close, but it didn't stop him front squirming and dave sat back down, "I guess you're not tired are you? Hmm, guess we better come up with a new way to get you to go to sleep...".

He took out another one of Tom's toys and started to make a funny voice, which got Tom to giggle, but not to fall asleep.

He jokingly fell on the floor and closed his eyes, but tom just crawled over to prod and poke his father.

Tom was a stubborn kid, dave was gonna have to try something else.

The king sighed, before grabbing a nursery rhyme book sat on one of the tables next to him, "How about this tommy? Sound ok?". The young boy stopped fussing and looked at the book with widened eyes, he started chewing on his stuffed animal and dave took this as the boy's way of saying yes.

"Alright, nursery rhymes it is then!".

He held Thomas to him before opening up the first page to read to the small boy, was was pointing at the pictures and trying to form words. Three Blind Mice was first and the young demon pointed to one of the mice, only to say "Mah...".

"Mice...", Dave replied "It's a little mouse tom..".

"MAH!", He said louder, and his father smiled a bit as he read to him. The small demon seemed to like hearing stories, he was quite curious and all these strange creatures fascinated him. It wasn't as if Tom was allowed to leave the castle to see much of this on his own, not to mention being underground and full of dead didn't present much pleasant imagery for a baby.

Tom's eyes beamed when dave found the rhyme about the goose and pointed at the bird, "FLY".

"Yeah...birds fly Thomas..", then the small demon started to move his arms as if trying to flap wings, "FLY!". The demon then tried to turn the page himself, urging his father to go on, the man smiled at his cute son and happily obliged.

The demon loved pictures, Familiarity and cute animals always got his attention.

He was so soft, for a demon.

Which of course wasn't the ideal look for the next king of the underworld, but was certainly preferable to a destructive child set on destroying everything and everyone in his path. Other demons may look at the small child as unfit to rule for being a hybrid, but Dave couldn't help but think he was the cutest and most precious hing he'd ever seen.

The way he got excited over things, his little laugh, how his three eyes reacted to everything around him, the soft pink hair, his little tail.

He was everything Dave wanted.

Tom's eyes scanned over the next page in delight, and he starting turning the book's pages over and over without his father even being able to read them. Tom just wanted to see the colorful characters, and try and say words instead.

It was precious, how he could barely say anything, his little fangs just barely showing off.

He looked like a tiny bear cub.

Pretty soon, Dave wasn't even reading the rhymes, instead he was just watching his son point at the pictures, and basically imitate the stories himself happily. His three eyes glistening with joy, he hugged his stubbed rabbit close and by the time they ended the book, tom was yawning.

His father closed the book, "Looks like someone is sleepy...must be nap time..".

The little boy didn't protest as Dave closed the book and scooped him up, taking him to his carriage and tucking him in. His three eyes closed slowly and he felt his father kiss his forehead before cuddling his toy closer and drifting off to sleep.

"Sleep tight little mouse...we'll play again later ok? Daddy loves you..".

The small boy smiled in his sleep.

Thoughts of mice and flying taking over his dreams.


	10. A New Prince Arrives

Dave paced around back and forth, any second now someone was about to come out and tell him how the birth went. It was something that both excited him, and terrified him beyond belief. He was happy to be having a baby, it wasn't like he wasn't, he was just so sacred once they found out how small he was, that his birth could have...complications.

The thoughts ran though his head multiple times, and the more he had the worse his anxiety got.

What if the baby never was able to get out? What if it died in there? What if the baby was crushed or harmed, or it was too weak to even function properly?

No telling what his mewman DNA might have done to it after all.

He might look more mewman then demon, maybe he'd be powerless, maybe something even more amazing would happen and he'd have cheekmarls

There was no telling what could happen, this situation was brand new to everyone!

He was squeezing the life out of his stress toy, he just wanted someone to come out and tell him how it went already, just break the bad news to him so he can stop freaking out so much. Any more and he'd give himself a heart attack simple from his anxieties about their baby.

Moon already came by, and so did the commission, although dave was sure the only reason they did was because they were watching him. Their son was going to be the first hybrid baby to be born in a royal family after all, so of course they were going to be here to make sure everything was in order.

It took everything they could to be allowed to even have their son, for him to be here.

Their presence only fed into his worry, if they even remotely thought to change their mind and remove him.

Remove him, for simply being a hybrid.

He swore under his breath if they even remotely put their hands on him he'd do everything in his power to take them down himself.

Luckily they seemed to have more important matters at hand as they already left, and so did moon, though in her case it might have been due to her being pregnant herself.

He just hoped he could see his son soon, and that everything would be fine, and he could stop freaking out like the whole world was ending.

Though, really, if anything bad happened, his whole world probably was ending.

He paced back another time when _finally_ , a demon nurse made her way out of the double doors, and Dave resisted immediately grabbing her shoulders to ask her the condition of his wife and child as she made her way over to him. "Sir, the birth was a success! There were a few worries, but your son is just fine...the queen herself can't hold him exactly but...would you like to see him?"

"YEs!", he replied, a little too quickly then he probably should have, almost startling her. He managed to clam himself down and regained his composure quickly, apologizing under his breath, "I mean, yeah, take me to my son...please?"

* * *

"Hello...Thomas..."

Dave sat quietly as a bundle was placed into his arms, it wiggled around, making just the faintest of noises. He was staring at it in awe, trying to hold back his tears at the sight of his tiny son. He was small, just as small as he had been expecting. But that wasn't it, a long red tail poked it's way out from the bundle much to his excitement, strands of pink hair could be seen on his head, not to mention the painted ears, purplish skin, and three closed eyes.

They were expecting their baby to look different since he wasn't a full-blooded demon or mewman, but he seemed a little more on the monster side then mewman.

Still, They weren't complaining.

"He's...he's so cute...", he huddled the baby closer, "He looks so much like you, mel...look at him, he's...perfect...". Wrathmelior was lying down next to him, tired and unable to get the best view of their son, instead just listening to her husband's rambling. "He's got your tail, and your eyes, and your ears and..."

"She made a soft noise and he smiled, "Yeah? You really think he looks like me too? I mean...I dunno mel..."

Her insistent growls kept coming though and he took another took at his son, "Thanks mel.."

The large demon next to him growled, which in turn finally woke the small demon up, he immediately began crying. His screams echoed through the room, and dave immediately tried to hush him, "Hey hey it's ok...hey...don't worry...it's gonna be ok...".

The small creature made some small noises but fell asleep to his father's soft voice.

"I can't believe we're finally parents mel! Can you believe it?", he asked her much quieter, "I-I didn't even think...w-we'd...", he wiped his eyes. "No no, no need to cry...right now is a happy moment. Today we're gonna enjoy this, and tomorrow we're gonna take you home, and introduce you to your new room and toys and...it's gonna be great."

The baby sneezed, just a little bit, swatting something in his sleep, slightly waking him up.

"This little guy has a bit of a temper, i can tell...", he shushed the small child as he fell back asleep, "I'll keep you safe ok? Mommy and daddy are gonna keep you safe". He held the baby close to his chest, for a moment not even caring about the commission or the future.

They could deal with all of that later, _**much**_ later for all dave cared.

Just happy, as for now, his son was okay.

And he was perfect.


	11. Momma's Boy

"No mom...I'll be fine...", Tom cradled up in his mother's hand, trying to force back any and all tears coming his way, ruining his makeup. "I'm sure i'll find someone better then star...maybe...". He felt her hum as she stroked his hair with one of her fingers, trying to comfort him, she was making growling noises and telling him soothing things. Tom was trying hard to bottle himself up right now, he just wanted to crawl into a ball and never come back out.

He felt so empty.

His mom soothing him just wasn't doing much, and she was normally good at stuff like this, so attentive and loving towards him. But it just wasn't much to mend his broken heart, it was always times like this when he realized just how alone he was. That he never had anyone outside of Star and having her out of his life just left him feeling isolated and unloved. His mother hated seeing him like this, it's why she always went through the effort to try and get as many people to his birthday parties as possible, even though he didn't really have friends.

because seeing him alone broke her heart.

Tom felt him mother place him down into his bed, her giant hands pulling the covers over him and making some sad growling noises before leaving the room. He was hopeless, not even his mother could get him to calm down and relax right now. He sunk into the pillow, feeling his face and noticing his mascara was running down his face and was smudged all over his cheeks. He must look more pathetic then he thought, he'd be lucky if this didn't stain his clothing.

It totally would, wouldn't it?

Good the servants would have a heart attack.

His father was still out on a trip to meet up with royals from another dimension for a trade and tom kinda wished he was here, if only because he might be able to calm his mother down. He was good at that, good at comforting her, sometimes even tom. His mom went overboard when she was upset, neither of his parents were to be messed with of course, but his mother was a terrifying demon who could destroy you with a simple glare into your soul.

She was more emotional, more intense, more protective.

Tom was her son after all, how else would she react to seeing him be treated like this constantly?

Suddenly she entered the bedroom again, holding a few items, putting them down one by one. Her size made things like this slightly difficult for her but she had grown accustomed to being more gentle with her rather large hands, putting her stuff down one by one using only two fingers for her son to see.

One tom recognized immediately, as his old teddy bear.

He would normally say something about his mom bringing him a toy that he mostly used when he was a baby but he felt himself instinctively grab it, he was embarrassed of course, but found himself pulling it tighter and tighter to his chest as his mom set soup on his nightstand, urging him to eat. Eating did help a bit normally when tom was in one of his moods, though tom seemed to not feel up to it, staying to his bed and sighing as him mom went through the rest of the things she got him.

There was hot cocoa, a blanket, some magazines, and even some of tom's favorite movie and video games. His mom was trying, she really was, bringing him anything and everything she possible could to cheer him up, even games when she knew her fingers would be too big to play games with her little boy. The thought made tom smile a bit but he still didn't feel any better, this stuff just really got to him and he didn't even have the urge to leave the mattress and do anything.

Wrath whimpered, reaching out to pet him gently with her finger again.

"Mom i'll be fine by myself...you don't have to stay here with me...ok? Maybe I just...wasn't good enough...", she grumbled back though, telling him he was way too good for star anyway though tom was never sure if he ever would believe that. This was the kinda stuff parents say to make their kids feel better, whether it's true or not. She made another grumble and tom retorted, "Mom, you don't need to do anything...don't go overboard it's...i'll be fine.".

She crossed her arms, sitting down and urging tom to eat the food she brought, tom didn't, turning on the other side of his small bed.

She felt her Heart break even more.

"I'm gonna sleep mom...ok..? Maybe that'll help me feel better...".

She said nothing, watching her son try and make himself comfortable on his bed, she could sense he wasn't really tired though, most likely just trying to sleep so he could be alone and by himself. She huffed, taking her leave, she wouldn't be much help if tom was ignoring her after all. Tom was so much easier to clam down when he was just a tiny baby, toys and food and fun memories easily washed this kind of pain away but he was so much older now.

His feelings were more complicated and not something she could easily fix.

Still, she couldn't handle seeing him like this, there were times she wished she could go up and confront star herself but she knew that would hurt her son more then everything star put him through. That girl had no right to treat her son that way, to make him feel so horrible about himself. She had been through similar pain in the past with exs, though now as a protective mom her dynamic with it happening to her son was way different, she wanted to do more.

She just wanted to sooth her son, and she didn't seem to have that power anymore.

She sat alone in the throne room, lost in thought and saddened.

She could hear a light lavastorm going on outside, most likely because of her. She wanted to pull out her family albums, and just go back to more innocent times, when things were easier. But those days were far behind unfortunately, maybe she really should just give tom some time to be alone, time to think, it might help. But then again, it also might make things even worse to leave him alone with his thoughts, having no one to talk to and make him feel better.

Time passed, she had resorted to getting back to focusing on her work, trying to clear and calm her mind. Though she felt forcing herself to focus on other things was just making her feel worse, she wanted to check up on her son. Finishing her work fast she made a move on to tom's bedroom, knocking at first, and not getting a response. Feeling more concerned about his safety, she entered, relieved to see him asleep in his bed, snuggling his teddy bear close.

how did she get so lucky to have a son as cute as him?

She smiled a toothy grin, watching him sleep softy, seeing his soup and cocoa had already gotten cold. Or well, as cold as they could get in the underworld, using her powers to heat them up again, giving tom his extra blanket and spending a few minutes watching him, feeling a little better as the rain outside seemed to cool down. What to do next? She looked at her son for a bit longer before she felt herself start to doze off, paperwork could do that to a person.

Maybe she could close her eyes, for a few minutes.

* * *

She awoke to find tom was not in her bed, which would normally make her panic if she hadn't noticed his soup and mug were empty and there was the sound of a shower going on from his bathroom. His dirty clothes left on the floor for the servants to get as she sighed, at least a clean shower might help make him feel a lot better. She immediately started cleaning the room herself though, making his bed, picking up his clothes and dirty dishes and leaving the room to get them cleaned.

Only when she returned she found tom, a little damp but much cleaner then he had been when he fell asleep.

"Hey mom, uh...you didn't have to stay and keep an eye on me...but..thanks for the food though, it...was good...", she immediately reached out for him, a finger touching his small cheek, earning her a laugh and making her think about her happy baby boy when he was a giggly baby still. "Hey...you...if you still want to play games or watch a movie...I-I could use that...now..i'm not i mean...I'm still upset but...I just want to take my mind off star and well...i guess at least i know you're always looking out for me even if star isn't.", he still sounded meek and sad and his mother's hand wrapped around the tiny demon and picked him up.

Pressing him to her face as she gave him motherly kisses.

Tom laughed more, even as sad as he was.

"MOM?! I'm ok...It's...thanks...for caring about me so much...".

She gave him an affectionate glare, and tom laughed again, "Look, i'm...I'm still really upset, about star...but...it still means a lot to me, that you still care about me and what's happening and how i'm doing. Even if i don't...show it a lot...it means a lot...still...". She smooched him one more time before putting him down, he wandered over to pick up one of the movies she took in, "I-I think i could go for a movie...you...wanna make some popcorn together?".

She purred.

She was he luckiest mom in mewni and no one could tell her otherwise.


End file.
